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PRACTICAL 


ENGLISH    COMPOSITION 


BY 

CAROLYN    M.    GERRISH,  A.B. 

head  of  department  of  english 
girls'  latin  school,  boston 

AND 

MARGARET   CUNNINGHAM 

DEPARTMENT   OF    ENGLISH,    DORCHESTER    HIGH    SCHOOL 


D.    C    HEATH    AND    COMPANY 

BOSTON  NEW    YORK  CHICAGO 


•  •  • 


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Copyright,  191 2, 
By  D.  C.   Heath  &  Co. 

1  K  2 


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PREFACE 

It  is  the  purpose  of  this  book  to  accomplish  four  things  for 
the  student:  (i)  to  give  him  continually  increasing  power  in 
original  composition;  (2)  to  train  him  in  habits  of  accuracy 
in  mechanical  form  (spelling,  punctuation,  sentence  structure, 
etc.);  (3)  to  develop  his  interest  in  good  literature;  and 
(4)  to  stimulate  his  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the  world  in 
which  he  lives. 

From  the  beginning  of  the  book  to  the  end,  students  are 
required  to  do  creative  work  and  are  trained  to  select,  ar- 
range, and  express  ideas  so  as  to  make  the  best  use  of  what 
they  know. 

The  method  of  teaching  is  inductive.  Models  are  used  in 
such  a  way  as  to  encourage  and  to  develop  original  thought 
and  expression.  No  blind  imitation  of  models  is  possible  if 
the  method  of  the  book  is  followed.  This  requires  persistent 
effort  along  definitely  indicated  lines.  Beginning  with  very 
simple  work,  the  exercises  gradually  increase  in  difficulty  in 
both  subject  matter  and  technical  requirement. 

The  assignments  for  student  practice  are  varied  and  very 

extensive,  ranging  from  the  practical  to  the  theoretical,  from 

matters   of  everyday  experience   to   matters   of    imagination 

and  fancy.     The  subjects  assigned  have  been  taken  almost 

entirely  from  lists  made  out  by  students  when  asked  to  hand 

in  subjects  in  which  they  were  interested  and  on  which  they 

would  like  to  write.     Necessarily,   these  subjects  touch  all 

phases  of  the  lives  of  young  people. 

iii 


IV  PREFACE 

The  exercises  for  creative  work  are  accompanied  by  exer- 
cises which  teach  students  how  to  criticize  systematically 
their  own  work  as  well  as  that  of  others.  These  exercises 
call  for  class  criticisms  of  themes  on  the  same  topic,  — a  valu- 
able exercise  in  constructive  criticism  by  which  the  entire 
class  can  improve.  All  the  criticism  requires  the  scientific 
application  of  the  laws  of  composition. 

As  each  chapter  is  complete  in  itself,  those  who  prefer  a 
different  order  of  topics  from  that  of  the  book  may  readily 
rearrange  the  chapter  sequence  to  suit  their  needs. 

While  the  authors  have  shared  equally  in  the  task  of  pre- 
paring the  book,  each  is  under  more  than  ordinary  obligation 
to  the  other  for  supplying  certain  qualities  and  certain  forms 
of  development  that  otherwise  the  work  would  have  lacked. 
They  also  take  pleasure  in  acknowledging  their  debt  of  grati- 
tude to  the  friendly  critics  who  have  contributed  in  no  slight 
degree  to  its  perfecting ;  and  to  the  various  publishers  who 
have  courteously  granted  permission  to  make  brief  extracts 
from  copyrighted  books. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGB 

I.    Composition i 

II.     Oral  Composition .26 

III.  Description 38 

IV.  Narration 94 

V.     The  Paragraph 137 

VI.     The  Sentence 169 

VII.    Words •        .        .        .  216 

VIII.     Letter  Writing 225 

IX.     Rules  for  Spelling 268 

X.     Exposition 276 

•   XI.     Argument  and  Persuasion 307 

XII.     Figures  of  Speech 339 

XIII.  Poetic  Form       .         .         .         .       * 360 

XIV.  Supplementary  Readin(; 380 

XV.     Punctuation  of  the  Sentence 394 

Index 421 


X 


PEACTICAL  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION 

CHAPTER   I 
COMPOSITION 

Whenever  a  person  puts  together  ideas  for  the  sake  of 
expressing  his  thoughts  or  feelings  about  any  subject,  he 
forms  a  composition  in  language.  In  ordinary  life  composi- 
tions are  usually  oral,  while  written  compositions  generally 
take  the  form  of  letters,  diaries,  recipes,  or  reports,  or  of 
documents,  such  as  deeds,  wills,  etc. 

Choice  of  Subject.  —  The  subject  matter  of  most  oral  com- 
positions as  well  as  of  most  letters  and  diaries  is  made  up  of 
the  interests  and  happenings  of  everyday  life,  for  people  talk 
and  write  with  greatest  ease  and  effectiveness  about  the 
matters  which  most  nearly  concern  them  and  about  which 
they  know  most.  Just  what  particular  subject  a  person  shall 
talk  or  write  about  at  any  particular  time  depends,  however, 
not  only  upon  his  own  interests  and  knowledge,  but  also 
upon  the  person  whom  he  is  addressing  and  upon  the  place 
and  the  occasion  which  make  him  speak  or  write  at  all. 

EXERCISE  I 

1.  Name  five  subjects  in  which  you  are  interested  and  about  which 
you  know  enough  to  talk  or  to  write. 

2.  Name  five  subjects  in  which  you  are  interested,  but  about  which  you 
do  not  at  present  know  enough  to  talk  or  to  write. 

3-  (I-  Name,  five  subjects  that  you  have  recentlv  discussed  with  your 
parents  %  name  five  that  you  have  talked  about  with  companions :  name 
three  about  which  you  have  written  to  friends  or  relatives  who  do  not  live 
in  your  own  town  or  city. 

I 


PRACTICAl^  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 


b.    Which  of  these  subjects  would  you   have   discussed  only  with  the 
persons  with  whom  you  did  discuss  them?     Why? 

4.    Name  three  subjects  about  which  you  would  not  talk  in  a  public 
conveyance. 

EXERCISE  II 

1.  From  the  following  list  of  subjects,  select  ten  that  you  would  talk 
about  to  a, person  that  you  have  just  met  at  a  party. 

2.  Select  three  that  you  would  discuss  only  with  a  member  of  your  own 
family. 

3.  Select  five  that  you  would  talk  about  to  your  club  or  society. 

4.  Select  five  that  you  would  talk  about  to  your  English  class. 

5.  Select  three  that  are  unsuitable  for  conversation  with  a  Uttle  child. 


I. 

A  Great  Race. 

27. 

Stuck  in  the  Mud. 

2. 

The  Aviator's  Flight. 

28. 

A  Barbecue. 

3- 

A  Desperate  Struggle. 

29. 

A  Clambake. 

4- 

A  Fishing  Trip. 

30- 

A  Candy  Social. 

5- 

Camping  Out. 

31- 

An  Ideal  Country  Gaiden. 

6. 

A  Day  at  the  Beach. 

32. 

The  Hardware  Show. 

7- 

An  Unexpected  Visitor. 

33- 

Making  Wireless  Instruments. 

8. 

At  the  Circus. 

34- 

Automobile  Mishaps. 

9- 

A  Bad  Scare. 

35- 

My  Street  in  a  Snowstorm. 

10. 

Chased  by  a  Mad  Dog. 

36. 

Our  Hurdy-Gurdy  Man. 

II. 

My  Day  of  Rest. 

37- 

The  Building  of  a  Pigeon\s  Nest. 

12. 

A  Snow  Fight. 

38. 

Huyler's  on  a  Saturday  After- 

13- 

Floadng  on  Ice  Cakes. 

noon. 

14. 

Why  Tad  Left  Home. 

39- 

Teaching     a     Stubborn     Dog 

•5- 

Reflecting  Mirrors. 

Tricks. 

16. 

How  Coal  is  Mined. 

40. 

Indian  Baskets. 

17- 

A  Week  in  a  Lumber  Camp. 

41. 

My  First  Impressions  of  a  Farm. 

18. 

From  New  York  to  Liverpool 

42. 

Shop  Windows. 

on  a  Tramp  Steamer. 

43- 

My  Need  of  New  Clothes. 

19. 

The  Life  of  a  Reaper. 

44. 

My   Need  of  a  Larger  Allow- 

20. 

Tlie  Try-Out. 

ance. 

21. 

The  Intelligence  of  Animals. 

45 

Why  A is  a  good   friend 

22. 

Mv  Chum. 

for  me. 

23 

The  Use  of  Vacuum  Cleaners. 

46. 

How  Outdoor  Sports  cultivate 

24. 

The  Recipe  for  Fudge. 

Self  reliance. 

21;. 

Damminc:  a  Brook. 

47 

Does  a  Definite  Purpose  secure 

26. 

Stignring  Off. 

Economy  of  Effort? 

COMPOSITION 


48.    Why    I    should    gain    skill    in 


swimming. 


How  to  Make  a  Toy  Engine. 

Can    a   Person  without  excep- 
tional Skill  be  Popular? 

The  Wreck  of  the  Federal  Ex- 
press. 

The  Collapse  of  the  Tenement 
Block. 

The  Burning  of  the  Excursion 
Steamer. 

The  Tramps   seen  Lurking  in 
the  Woods. 

The  Hold-Up. 

The  Shot  in  the  Orchard. 

The  Ghost  in  the  Hollow. 
58.    My    Trip   through    the    News- 
paper Plant. 

The  Face  at  the  Window. 

The     Stealthy     Step     on    the 
Piazza. 

The  Manufacture  of  Chocolate. 


49. 
50. 

51- 

52. 

53- 
54- 

55- 
56. 

57- 


59 
60 


62.  Typhoons. 

63.  The  Leading   Products  of  the 

United  States. 

64.  My  Daily  Chores. 

65.  Putting  up  Preserves. 

66.  The  County  Fair. 

67.  The  Baby  Show. 

68.  Gathering  Apples. 

69.  Harvesting  Corn. 

70.  Sailing  an  Ice  Boat. 
Cutting  Ice. 
Breaking  in  the  Colt. 


71 
72 

73 
74 
75 


Driving  an  Artesian  Well. 
Irrigation. 


How  to  put  Electric  Bells  into 
a  House. 
76.    A  Day's  Hunt. 
'jf .    Lost  in  the  Swamp. 

Life  on  a  Canal  Boat. 

Sheep  Shearing. 


61 


78. 

79- 
80. 

81. 


Branding  the  Cattle. 
Glass-Blowing. 


SUMMARY   I 

A.  Composition  in  language  is  the  expression  in  words  of  one's 
thoughts  or  feelings  about  a  subject. 

B.  To  make  an  effective  composition : 

1.  Choose  a  subject  in  which  you  are  interested  and  about  which 

you  know  enough  to  talk  or  to  write. 

2.  Choose  a  subject  which  will  interest  the  person  addressed. 

3.  Choose  a  subject  suitable  to  the  occasion. 

The  Selection  of  the  Point  to  be  Made.  —  Even  when  a  per- 
son has  chosen  a  suitable  subject,  he  often  fails  to  make  an 
effective  composition  because  he  makes  no  point  about  his 
subject ;  that  is,  he  does  not  make  any  one  idea  stand  out  as 
the  idea  which  leads  him  to  discuss  the  subject.  For  example, 
each  of  the  following  compositions  was  written  on  the  sub- 
ject, *'  Coming  to  School." 


4  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

Coming  to  School 

This  morning  I  started  from  my  home  about  quarter  of  eight  to  walk  to 
school.  When  I  got  to  my  friend's  house,  she  was  already  outside  waiting 
for  me,  so  we  started  right  otT.  In  front  of  us  were  a  few  girls  whom  we 
knew.  They  were  all  talking  about  the  wedding  they  had  been  to  the 
night  before.  As  my  friend  and  I  had  the  same  home  lesson  in  French, 
we  were  trying  to  pronounce  the  words  which  seemed  queer  to  us.  As 
we  walked  fast,  we  reached  school  at  twenty  minutes  past  eight. 

Coming  to  School 

It  was  fifteen  minutes  after  eight  o'clock  when  I  started  for  school  with 
an  armful  of  heavy  books  and  a  feeling  that  I  had  left  something  impor- 
tant behind  in  my  desperate  hurry.  As  I  hastened  along  Washington 
Street,  something  dropped  on  the  sidewalk  at  my  feet.  It  was  my  note- 
book. I  impatiently  picked  it  up  and  hurried  on  toward  school.  A  little 
farther  along,  I  met  my  chum,  who  joined  me  in  my  haste,  for  neither  of 
us  cared  to  spoil  our  records  by  tardiness,  especially  so  near  the  beginning 
of  the  school  term. 

We  seemed  to  make  very  good  time,  and  were  within  sight  of  the  school 
building,  when  I  suddenly  remembered  that  I  had  been  told  to  leave  an 
order  at  the  creamery  on  my  way  to  school.  Much  dismayed  and  dis- 
couraged, I  left  my  friend,  retraced  my  steps  a  short  distance,  and  entered 
the  store,  entirely  out  of  breath.  As  nobody  appeared  to  wait  on  me,  I 
made  as  many  unnecessary  noises  as  I  could  conveniently,  and  soon  a 
young  man  came  out  from  the  rear  of  the  store,  deliberately  donning 
his  white  coat.  It  seemed  to  me  that  I  stood  there  half  an  hour  while 
he  adjusted  that  coat  and  wrote  down  my  order,  but,  in  reality,  it  was 
only  two  minutes.  At  the  end  of  that  time  I  rushed  from  the  store  and 
ran  the  remaining  short  distance  to  the  school  in  breathless  haste.  Luckily, 
I  didn't  have  to  climb  any  stairs,  but  reached  my  home  room  and  sank  into 
my  chair  exhausted,  just  as  the  last  bell  rang.  Right  there  and  then,  as 
soon  as  I  recovered  my  breath,  I  resolved  to  start  for  school  earlier  there- 
after and  avoid  a  repetition  of  such  a  rush. 

The  first  composition  is  ineffective  because  it  recounts  a 
mere  string  of  happenings  which  bring  out  no  point  what- 
ever.   The  second  composition,  on  the  other  hand,  is  effective 


COMPOSITION  5 

because  the  happenings  recounted  bring  out  the  one  point  of 
interest  to  the  writer  about  her  coming  to  school  on  a  particular 
morning,  namely,  the  escape  from  tardiness. 

The  Nature  of  the  Point.  —  The  ideas  in  a  composition, 
then,  should  bring  out  a  point.  In  order  that  a  composi- 
tion may  be  really  worth  while,  the  point  made  must  be  either 
entertaining  or  instructive  to  the  person  addressed.  The  two 
compositions  which  follow  illustrate  each  kind  of  point. 

A  Midnight  Experience 

It  was  midnight.  The  clock  on  the  far-away  church  tower  had  just 
struck  and  I  lay  in  my  bed  unable  to  sleep.  Suddenly  I  felt  that  there 
was  another  presence  in  the  room.  I  turned  my  eyes  toward  the  window 
and  felt  my  heart  almost  stop  its  beating  as  I  saw  a  dark  form  moving 
toward  the  bed.  Nearer  and  nearer  it  crept,  until  it  seemed  that  I  must 
scream  if  it  moved  a  step  nearer.  I  could  not  scream,  however,  but  only 
lay  there  shaking,  my  eyes  fixed  on  the  spot.  Could  I  get  out  of  the  other 
side  of  the  bed  and  escape  by  the  door.?  No,  the  door  seemed  miles  away. 
I  gasped  as  the  object  moved  again.  In  a  moment  it  would  be  upon  me. 
I  could  almost  see  a  dreadful  weapon  ready  to  strike  me.  Again  it  moved 
and  still  I  could  not  stir.  Another  step,  and  it  was  near  enough  to 
strike.  With  a  mighty  effort  I  stretched  out  my  arm  to  ward  off  the 
blow.  My  hand  touched  something.  It  was  not  the  cold  metal  of  a  re- 
volver, as  I  had  expected  it  would  be,  but,  instead,  the  soft,  warm  fur  of 
my  friendly  dog  that  had  been  creeping  to  his  accustomed  bed  on  the  floor 
beside  me. 

Barrel  Shook  Making 

The  staves  which  constitute  barrels,  hogsheads,  etc.,  are  called  shook. 
The  particular  kind  of  shook  which  I  am  going  to  tell  about  is  that  which 
is  to  be  used  for  sugar  barrels. 

First,  the  staves  come  to  the  shop  finished  off  in  the  right  length. 
Then  the  m.en  set  the  staves  up  inside  a  hoop  which  is  the  right  size  for 
the  finished  end  of  the  barrel.  After  the  staves  are  fitted  tightly  in  this 
hoop,  a  larger  hoop  is  put  on  and  pushed  as  near  to  the  opposite  end  of 
the  staves  as  possible.  Then  the  shook,  in  this  shape,  is  set  on  its  large 
end  over  a  fire  in  a  grate  to  heat  the  staves  on  the  inside.     As  the  staves 


6  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COAIPOSITION 

are  heating,  the  men  keep  pushing  the  large  hoop  toward  the  large  end  of 
the  shook,  thus  bending  the  staves  into  the  shape  of  a  barrel.  After  the 
shook  has  been  heated  for  some  time,  it  is  taken  away  from  the  fire,  and 
is  ready  to  be  pulled  in  at  the  large  end  to  a  circumference  equal  to  that  of 
the  end  already  the  right  size.  It  is  then  drawn  in  by  means  of  a  cable 
made  into  a  slipnoose  and  drawn  over  an  iron  wheel  which  the  men  turn 
with  a  crowbar.  When  the  shook  is  pulled  so  tight  that  a  hoop,  equal 
in  size  to  the  one  on  the  first  end  may  be  put  around  it,  it  is  placed  over 
the  fire  again  to  be  bent  into  the  proper  shape.  This  done,  the  shook,  in 
the  form  of  a  barrel,  is  put  into  a  rack,  called  a  cradle.  In  this  cradle  the 
men  level  the  ends  of  the  staves  on  the  inside.  This  leveling  is  where 
the  head  and  the  bottom  of  the  barrel  fit. 

In  this  way  the  barrel  is  made.  Then  the  hoops  are  knocked  off  and 
the  staves  are  piled  up  in  a  compact  bundle  and  bound  together  on  each 
end  with  steel  bands.     The  shook  is  then  ready  for  shipping. 

EXERCISE  III 

1.  From  the  list  of  subjects  begun  on  page  2,  select  five  that  at  once 
suggest  points  that  are  entertaining  rather  than  instructive  ;  select  five 
that  at  once  suggest  points  that  are  instructive  rather  than  entertaining; 
select  five  that  suggest  points  that  are  equally  entertaining  and  instructive 

2.  Write  a  composition  on  one  subject  from  each  of  your  three  lists. 

3.  Read  your  themes  to  the  class. 

a.  Did  the  class  get  the  point  of  each  of  your  themes? 

b.  What  did  thev  think  about  it? 

Choice  of  Point  Limited  by  Time  or  Space  at  Writer's  Dis- 
posal. —  A  point  about  a  subject  may  be  worth  making,  and 
yet  not  be  well  chosen  for  the  time  or  the  space  at  the  com- 
mand of  the  speaker  or  the  writer. 

A  boy  may  be  eager  to  tell  his  friends  how  he  has  spent 
his  summer  vacation.  Out  of  the  many  things  he  has  done 
a  dozen  or  so  at  once  occur  to  him  as  well  worth  telling  about. 
Of  his  experiences  at  camp,  the  ivatcr  sports,  his  camp  duties, 
initiatijig  tJic  newcomer,  going  after  supplies,  and  tramps 
across  coiuitry  are  topics  that  offer  interesting  possibilities. 
At  home,  taking  care  of  the  lawn,  weeding  the  garden,  driv- 


COMPOSITION  7 

ing  the  grocer  s  wagon,  doing  cJiores  for  tJie  jieig/ibors,  stand 
out  as  important  because  of  the  time  they  took  or  the  profit 
they  gave.  The  airsJiip,  the  model  of  a  railroad,  the  little 
steam  sawmill,  the  telegraph  apparatus,  the  bookcase,  the 
table^  or  the  what-not  completed  in  his  workshop  in  leisure 
moments,  are  sources  of  such  pride  as  to  merit  discussion  ; 
while  getti?tg  ready  for  the  fair,  private  theatricals,  and  col- 
lecting birds'  eggs  are  other  interesting  vacation  items. 

All  of  these  topics  are  interesting,  and  some  of  them  are 
valuable  for  information  ;  but  to  develop  each  properly  would 
require  the  giving  of  a  lecture  or  the  writing  of  a  small  book. 
Just  to  enumerate  theni  would  give  a  mere  outline  of  the 
varied  interests  of  the  vacation,  while  to  say  a  little  on  each 
would  probably  result  in  hodge-podge.  Which  of  them, 
then,  shall  he  select  to  talk  or  write  about  at  any  one  time .'' 
His  choice  must  be  governed  not  only  by  the  interests  of  the 
person  whom  he  is  addressing  and  by  the  occasion  of  speak- 
ing or  writing,  but  also  by  the  time  or  the  space  at  his  dis- 
posal. If  he  has  but  ten  minutes  and  is  talking  to  a  person 
particularly  interested  in  athletics,  he  can  speak  of  the  water 
sports  at  camp,  while  to  a  person  about  to  go  camping  he 
may  speak  of  the  initiation  of  the  newcomer,  of  camp  duties, 
or  of  some  such  topic  as  what  should  make  up  a  camper's 
kit.  If  he  has  a  whole  afternoon  for  his  talk  to  people  in- 
terested in  camp  life,  he  may  take  as  his  point  My  Life  at 
Camp^  and  tell  about  all  these  topics  and  more,  too. 

Just  as  the  point  of  a  talk  depends  largely  upon  the  time 
at  the  disposal  of  the  speaker,  the  point  of  a  written  article 
depends  upon  the  space  at  the  disposal  of  the  writer.  If  a 
person  must  get  what  he  has  to  say  into  five  hundred  words, 
he  is  unwise  to  attempt  to  develop  a  point  that  requires  fifteen 
hundred  words.  A  boy  is  asked  to  write  for  his  school  paper 
an  article  of  six  hundred  words  on  what  he  has  done  in  his 


8  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

workshop.  This  amount  of  space  is  too  small  to  allow  him 
to  tell  all  that  he  has  done  there.  It  is  too  large  for  him  to 
discuss  merely  the  making  of  a  bookcase  or  of  a  table.  It  is 
about  right  for  him  to  tell  how  he  made  an  airship  that 
worked,  how  he  constructed  a  toy  railroad  system,  or  how  he 
set  up  his  telegraph  apparatus.  For  the  article  in  question, 
therefore,  he  should  choose  some  topic  like  one  of  the  last 
three. 

A  point  is  well  chosen,  then,  when  it  is  interesting  or  val- 
uable as  information  to  the  person  addressed  and  when  it 
can  be  brought  out  in  the  time  or  the  space  at  the  command 
of  the  speaker  or  the  writer. 

Bringing  out  the  Point.  —  A  point  may  be  well  chosen  and 
yet  a  composition  may  be  ineffective  because  the  point  is  not 
properly  brought  out. 

Compare  the  two  following  compositions : 

A  Trip  to  the  Blue  Hills 

One  morning  in  July  we  —  my  mother,  five  girls,  six  boys,  and  I  — 
started  for  the  Blue  Hills  to  pick  berries.  On  the  cars  that  we  took  there 
were  only  three  people  besides  ourselves,  and  you  should  have  seen  how 
fast  we  went.  Arriving  at  the  Blue  Hills,  we  started  at  once  to  pick  berries. 
We  picked  for  about  an  hour  and  then  had  luncheon.  We  ate  our  lunch- 
eon away  up  on  a  rock  at  the  top  of  Great  Blue  Hill.  After  that  we  went 
through  the  observatory.  It  was  interesting  to  see  all  the  different  instru- 
ments they  have  for  seeing  how  the  wind  blows,  etc.  About  three  o'clock 
we  started  in  picking  berries  again  and  picked  until  five.  At  six  o'clock 
we  started  for  home  with  about  sixteen  quarts  of  berries,  after  a  very  pleas- 
ant day. 

A  Mean  Trick 

One  day  last  summer,  three  girls,  two  boys,  and  I  went  out  picking 
blueberries.  The  boys  bet  they  could  pick  more  berries  in  an  hour  than 
we  could.  We  girls  picked  and  picked  until  our  fingers  were  sore,  the 
boys,  meanwhile,  picking  lazily  and  continually  laughing  at  some  joke  they 
had  between  themselves.     Within  an  hour  the  boys'  cans  were  full,  while 


COMPOSITION  9 

ours  were  only  half  full.  Then,  as  we  were  hungry  and  tired,  we  started 
home.  As  we  were  racing  down  a  steep  hill,  one  of  the  boys  stumbled  on 
a  root  of  a  tree  and  went  rolling  down  the  hill  with  his  can  rolling  after 
him,  spilling  out  the  berries  as  it  went.  As  quickly  as  I  could  I  picked  it 
up  and  found  that  the  bottom  was  stuffed  with  paper.  Then  we  made  the 
other  fellow  empty  his  can  and  we  found  the  bottom  of  his  stuff"ed,  too. 
They  were  angry  because  we  found  them  out,  and  they  would  not  speak 
to  us  the  rest  of  the  way  home  ! 

The  first  composition  is  not  effective  because  the  point,  my 
pleasant  day  berrying  in  the  Blue  Hills,  is  suggested  only  by 
an  outline  of  events,  no  one  of  which  is  developed  by  enough 
details  to  show  what  made  it  pleasant.  The  second  composi- 
tion is  effective  because  each  of  the  events  which  lead  up  to 
the  point,  the  discovery  of  the  boys'  trick,  is  developed  by 
the  details  which  make  the  experience  seem  real  and  which 
emphasize  the  point. 

/;/  order  to  brijig  out  the  point  of  any  compositio7i  properly 
the  composition  must  be  made  tip  of  the  details  which  will 
arouse  interest  in  the  poi7it  and  which  will  make  the  pot?it 
clear. 

EXERCISE  IV 

I.  State  five  points  worth  making  about  each  of  ten  of  the  following 
subjects : 


I. 

Our  farm. 

9- 

Misplaced  charity. 

17- 

An  Indian  camp 

2. 

Excursions. 

ID. 

New  Orleans. 

18. 

School  days. 

3- 

Rain. 

II. 

The  fashion  plate. 

19. 

Jokes. 

4- 

Bread. 

12. 

Battleships. 

20. 

Cotton. 

5- 

Mining. 

13- 

Life  in  Virginia. 

21. 

Boats. 

6. 

West  Point. 

14. 

Haying. 

22. 

Games. 

7- 

Summer  sports. 

15- 

Fishing. 

23- 

Bird-nesting. 

8. 

The  woodchuck. 

16. 

The  factory. 

24. 

Swimming. 

2.  Out  of  the  fifty  points  selected  name  fifteen,  any  one  of  which  you 
can  develop  with  completeness  in  ten  minutes. 

3.  Prepare  and  give  to  your  class  a  four-minute  talk  on  some  one  of 
these  topics. 


TO  PRACTICAL    I'AC.LIMI    LOMruSlllON 

a.    Did  the  class  get  your  point  ? 

if.    What  did  they  think  about  the  value  of  your  point  ? 

4.  Of  the  fifty  points,  name  five  that  you  would  need  thirty  minutes  to 
complete  a  talk  on. 

5.  Write  in  class  for  thirty  minutes  on  one  of  these  five  points.  Read 
your  theme  to  the  class. 

a.    What  did  the  class  think  about  the  value  and  the  suitability  of 

your  point  ? 
i).    What  did  they  say  about  the  way  in  which  you  brought  out  the 

point  ? 

6.  Discuss  another  of  these  five  points  in  a  letter  to  an  intimate  friend. 

7.  Write  up  in  one  hundred  and  fifty  or  two  hundred  words  one  of  the 
points  in  your  list. 

8.  Write  up  in  three  hundred  or  three  hundred  and  fifty  words  any 
point  that  you  choose. 

SUMMARY  II 

To  make  the  subject  effective: 

1.  Choose  a  point  that  is  entertaining  or  instructive. 

2.  Choose  a  point  that  can   be  handled  properly  in  the  time  or 

the  space  at  your  command. 

3.  Develop  a  composition  by  the  details  which  will  arouse  interest 

in  the  point  and  make  it  clear. 

The  Selection  and  Arrangement  of  Ideas.  —  Sometimes, 
even  when  a  point  has  been  well  chosen  and  ideas  that  tend 
to  bring  it  out  have  been  used,  the  composition  is  a  failure 
because  among  the  ideas  that  tend  to  bring  out  the  point,  there 
are  others  that  have  nothing  to  do  with  it  or  that  are  not  es- 
sential to  it. 

Read  the  following  composition  : 

Circus  Day  in  the  Country 

One  of  the  most  vivid  memories  of  my  life  is  a  circus  day  in  the  country. 
In  rural  circles  anything  that  is  unusual  is  gladly  welcomed  by  all.  The 
coming  of  the  circus  was  an  ei'ent  looked  forward  to  by  one  and  all. 

A  few  friends  of  mine  invited  me  to  enjoy  with  thorn  the  pleasure  of 
seeing  the  circus  train  unload.     We  were  all  up  bright  and  early  to  meet 


COMPOSITION  II 

the  train,  which  came  in  three  sections.  In  the  first  part  were  the  horses 
and  teamsters.  No  sooner  had  the  cars  stopped  than  the  doors  opened 
and  the  horses  came  out.  In  less  than  half  an  hour  the  whole  freight 
yard  was  changed  into  a  veritable  show. 

We  followed  the  truck  horses  to  the  grounds,  where  we  watched  the 
workmen  •*  putting  up  the  big  top."  We  were  so  interested  that  we  forgot 
our  breakfast  and  did  not  return  home  until  nearly  lunch  time. 

We  met  again  after  lunch  and  went  to  the  afternoon  show.  ^411  day 
the  clouds  had  been  loivering.  and  as  we  luere  about  to  enter  the  big  tent, 
it  seemed  as  if  it  woidd  surely  raifi.  When  we  were  getting  ready  to  leave 
and  were  congratulating  ourselves  over  our  good  fortune,  a  tremendous 
gust  of  wind  came,  making  a  big  gash  in  the  canvas,  through  which  tor- 
rents of  rain  came.  We  felt  not  only  that  we  had  had  our  money  s  worth 
of  circus,  but  that  we  had  a  shower  bath  thrown  in. 

Although  the  point  of  the  composition  is  good  and  most  of 
the  ideas  help  to  bring  it  out,  the  composition  is  faulty  in  two 
ways  :  first,  the  ideas  expressed  in  italicized  words  have  no 
bearing  on  the  point ;  i.e.,  they  are  digressions ;  second,  some 
ideas  essential  to  the  development  of  the  point  are  left  out, 
as  in  the  case  of  the  details  of  the  "afternoon  show." 

Contrast  this  composition  with  the  following  one  in  which 
every  detail  used  helps  to  bring  out  the  point  and  from 
which  no  detail  necessary  to  make  the  point  clear  has  been 
omitted. 

The  Rescuing  Cannibal 

When  I  was  a  child  of  six,  we  lived  in  a  house  very  near  the  edge  of  a 
steep  and  dangerous  cliff.  At  the  foot  of  this  cliff  was  a  small  white  cot- 
tage inclosed  by  a  picket  fence,  one  side  of  which  was  against  the  base  of 
the  rock.  This  dwelling  was  a  very  great  mystery  to  all  of  us  children,  as 
we  never  saw  any  one  enter  or  leave  it,  yet  at  odd  times  during  the  day 
gray  smoke  would  blow  fiercely  up  at  us  from  the  black  chimney. 

The  fear  inspired  by  this  display  was,  as  a  rule,  an  effectual  aid  to  our 
parents  in  keeping  us  away  from  the  edge  of  the  cliff,  but  one  day,  in  the 
midst  of  a  wild  game  of  tag,  we  forgot  all  prohibitions  and  lunged  back 
and  forth  at  the  very  brink,  darting,  dodging,  and  scrambling  over  the 
stones.     One  of  these,  particularly  smooth  and  rounded  on  top,  overhung 


12  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

the  precipice  and  the  yard  of  the  little  white  house,  and  upon  this,  in  the 
vigor  and  excitement  of  the  chase,  one  of  my  companions  led  me.  She 
crossed  safely,  but  I  slipped,  and,  clutching  in  vain  at  the  even  edges  of 
stone,  was  sent  hurtling  downward,  turning  over  and  over  until  my  head 
struck  the  picket  fence.  A  great  gush  of  blood  almost  blinded  me,  but 
through  the  red  haze  I  saw  the  door  of  the  house  burst  open  and  an 
immense  black  man  rush  out.  As  he  snatched  me  from  the  ground,  such 
a  wave  of  terror  swept  over  me  as  I  have  never  since  experienced,  and 
throwing  my  arms  about  his  neck,  I  shrieked,  "  Oh,  please,  Mr.  Nigger, 
don't  eat  me." 

When  I  next  recovered  consciousness,  I  found  myself  well  bandaged 
and  tucked  safely  in  my  own  bed.  The  evil  effects  of  my  fall  wore  off  in  a 
few  days,  but  I  have  never  forgiven  myself  for  my  conduct  at  the  most 
exciting  moment  of  my  life. 

In  order  to  be  a  clear  and  forcible  development  of  a  single 
point,  a  composition  must  be  made  up  of  those  ideas  which 
are  essential  to  develop  one  point  —  in  other  words,  it  must 
conform  to  the  principle  of  unity. 

SUMMARY  III 

Unity  is  the  principle  of  composition  which  requires  that  a  composition 
consist  of  only  the  ideas  essential  to  the  development  of  a  single  point. 
To  conform  to  the  principle  of  unity: 

1.  a.   Select  ideas  that  bear  on  the  point. 

b.   Discard  ideas  that  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  point;   i.e., 
avoid  digressions. 

2.  Use  the  ideas  essential  to  a  clear  understanding  of  the  point. 

EXERCISE  V 

Criticize  the  following  students'  themes  for  point  and  for  choice  of  de- 
tails to  bring  out  the  point : 

The  School  of  One  Hundred  and  Twenty  Years  Ago 

When  I  first  entered  the  Dorchester  High  School,  I  was  reminded  of 
the  difference  between  it  and  the  First  Free  School  in  America,  the  site 
of  which  I  had  visited  a  few  months  previously.  However,  before  1  show 
the  differences  between  the  two  schools,  I  shall  say  that  the  First  Free 


COMPOSITION  13 

School  was  built  here  in  Dorchester  at  the  corner  of  Pond  and  Pleasant 
streets. 

It  was  for  boys  only,  and  was  used  for  about  sixty  years.  Girls  were 
considered  as  not  needing  an  education  until  one  hundred  years  afterward. 
It  was  maintained  by  the  rents  which  the  town  received  from  Thompson's 
Island. 

Now,  electric  lights  and  well-printed  and  neatly  bound  books  are  substi- 
tuted for  candles  and  books  which  were  bound  with  wood  or  paper  and 
printed  with  poor  type. 

The  First  Free  School  in  America  used  the  New  England  Primer,  which 
was  first  published  about  1785  or  1790.  In  place  of  the  present  brick 
buildings  with  furnaces  and  steam  heat  were  log  houses  with  great  fire- 
places and  roaring  fires. 

A  Blueberry  Pick 

One  morning,  the  summer  before  last,  when  the  sun  was  just  rising,  a 
friend  and  I  went  to  a  blueberry  patch,  called  Brush  Hill,  in  South  Fram- 
ingham.  After  a  walk  of  about  thirty-five  minutes,  we  arrived  at  the  foot 
of  the  hill.  We  then  proceeded  halfway  up  the  hill,  where  we  found  the 
blueberries  the  thickest.  After  our  pails  were  about  half  filled,  we  were 
aroused  by  a  noise  which  scared  us  very  much.  We  stopped  picking  and 
ran  until  we  discovered  that  the  noise  was  only  the  rustling  made  by  a 
number  of  cows  which  had  happened  to  wander  our  way.  Then  we  started 
picking  again.  At  the  end  of  twenty  minutes  we  had  our  pails  filled,  so  we 
started  homeward. 

On  descending  the  hill,  we  unexpectedly  got  into  the  path  of  a  bull, 
which  chased  us  down  the  remainder  of  the  hill.  At  the  foot  of  the  hill 
we  came  to  a  fence  and  thought  we  were  going  to  be  trapped,  but  we  man- 
aged to  get  over  in  time  to  escape.  We  lost  about  half  of  our  berries  and 
tore  our  clothes  badly  in  our  scramble  over  the  fence.  We  arrived  home 
in  time  for  dinner,  which  was  very  welcome  to  us.  It  seems  I  never  have 
luck  in  berrying,  for  something  always  happens.  This  was  my  first  time, 
too,  and  I  think  that  didn't  give  me  any  encouragement. 

EXERCISE   VI 
A.  Write  a  composition  about  one  of  the  following  subjects : 

1.  How  I  Won  my  Wager. 

2.  Learning  to  Skate. 


14  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH    COMPOSITION 

3.  The  Prize  DriU. 

4.  My  First  Hunting  Trip. 

5.  Putting  Out  tl\e  Forest  Fire. 

6.  My  First  Business  Experience. 

B.   Read  your  theme  to  your  class. 

1.  What  did  the  class  say  about  the  value  of  your  point? 

2.  What  did    they  think   about  your  choice  of  details  to  develop 

the  point  .-^ 

a.  Did  your  composition  contain  any  digressions? 

b.  Did  it  contain  details  unessential  to  the  point? 

C  Rewrite  your  theme,  making  the  kind  of  improvements  suggested 
by  the  class. 

D.  Examine  your  rewritten  theme  to  see:  (i)  that  you  have  said 
exactly  what  you  meant  to  say ;  (2)  that  you  have  put  a  period,  a  question 
mark,  or  an  exclamation  mark  at  the  end  of  each  sentence;  (3)  that  you 
have  spelled  all  words  correctly  and  that  you  have  made  no  errors  in 
grammar. 

Coherence.  —  If  a  composition  is  to  be  a  true  unit,  not  only 
must  the  ideas  of  which  it  consists  be  the  ideas  essential  to 
develop  the  point,  but  these  ideas  must  be  arranged  in  the 
right  order  and  must  be  expressed  in  the  right  words  to  make 
unity,  or  07iencss  of  thought,  evident;  i.e.,  they  must  conform 
to  the  principle  of  coherence. 

Read  the  following  compositions,  noticing  the  order  in 
which  the  details  are  given  : 


The  evening  meal  was  ended  in  Dhunni  Bhagat's  Chubara  and  the  old 
priests  were  smoking  or  counting  their  beads.  A  little  naked  child  pattered 
in,  with  its  mouth  wide  open,  a  handful  of  marigold  flowers  in  one  hand 
and  a  lump  of  conserved  tobacco  in  the  other.  It  tried  to  kneel  and  make 
obeisance  to  Gobind.  but  it  was  so  fat  that  it  fell  forward  on  its  shaven 
head  and  rolled  on  its  side,  kicking  and  gasping,  while  the  marigolds 
tumbled  one  way  and  the  tobacco  the  other.  Gobind  laughed,  set  it  up 
again,  and  blessed  the  marigold  flowers  as  he  received  the  tobacco. 

—  The  Finances  of  the  Gods,  Kipling. 


COMPOSITION  15 

This  composition  begins  by  giving  a  clear  idea  of  the  situa- 
tion in  which  the  incident  took  place  and  immediately  intro- 
ducing the  chief  actor.  Then  the  details  necessary  to  develop 
the  point  are  given  in  the  order  in  which  they  were  seen. 
The  composition  ends  with  a  statement  of  the  final  outcome 
of  the  occurrence. 

B 

...  In  161 2  he  (Nicolas  de  Vignau)  reappeared  in  Paris,  bringing  a 
tale  of  wonders  ;  for,  says  Champlain.  ••  he  was  the  most  impudent  liar  that 
has  been  seen  for  many  a  day."  He  averred  that  at  the  sources  of  the 
Ottawa  he  had  found  a  great  lake  :  that  he  had  crossed  it  and  discovered  a 
river  flowing  northward  ;  that  he  had  descended  this  river  and  reached  the 
shores  of  the  sea  ;  that  here  he  had  .seen  the  wreck  of  an  English  ship, 
whose  crew,  escaping  to  land,  had  been  killed  by  the  Indians  :  and  that 
this  sea  was  distant  from  Montreal  only  seventeen  days  by  canoe.  The 
clearness,  consistency,  and  apparent  simplicity  of  his  story  deceived  Cham- 
plain,  who  had  heard  of  a  voyage  of  the  English  to  the  northern  seas, 
coupled  with  rumors  of  wreck  and  disaster,  and  was  thus  confirmed  in 
his  belief  of  Vignau's  honesty. 

—  The  Piofieers  of  France  in  the  JVew  IV'orld,  Parkman. 

This  composition  begins  by  stating  the  subject  and  sug- 
gesting the  point  to  be  made.  The  point  is  developed  by 
presenting  the  essential  details  in  the  order  in  which  they 
happened.  The  composition  concludes  with  a  statement  of 
the  final  outcome  of  the  telling  of  the  story. 


The  wealth  of  Clive  was  such  as  enabled  him  to  vie  with  the  first 
grandees  of  England.  There  remains  proof  that  he  had  remitted  more 
than  a  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  pounds  through  the  Dutch  East  India 
Company  and  more  than  forty  thousand  pounds  through  the  English 
Company.  The  amount  which  he  had  sent  home  through  private  houses 
was  also  considerable.  He  had  invested  great  sums  in  jewels,  then  a  very 
common  mode  of  remittance  from  India.  His  purchases  of  diamonds  at 
Madras  alone  amounted  to  twentv-five  thousand  pounds.     Besides  a  great 


1 6  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

mass  of  ready  money,  he  had  his  Indian  estate,  valued  by  himself  at  twenty- 
seven  thousand  a  year.  His  whole  annual  income,  in  the  opinion  of  Sir 
John  Malcolm,  who  is  desirous  to  state  it  as  low  as  possible,  exceeded 
forty  thousand  pounds  ;  and  incomes  of  forty  thousand  pounds  at  the  time 
of  the  accession  of  George  the  Third  were  at  least  as  rare  as  incomes  of  a 
hundred  thousand  pounds  now.  We  may  safely  affirm  that  no  Englishman 
who  started  with  nothing  has  ever,  in  any  line  of  life,  created  such  a 
fortune  at  the  early  age  of  thirty-four.  —  Lord  Clive,  Macaulay. 

This  composition  also  opens  with  a  statement  of  the  subject 
and  the  point  to  be  made.  Of  the  details  used  to  develop 
the  point,  those  first  given  are  details  which  are  known  to  be 
true.  These  are  followed  by  details  less  well  known  or  less 
easy  of  proof.  The  composition  concludes  with  a  summa- 
rizing statement  which  emphasizes  the  point. 

In  each  of  the  compositions  the  relation  of  the  details  to 
one  another  and  to  the  point  is  made  evident  by  the  way  in 
which  the  details  are  expressed. 

In  the  first  composition,  attention  is  at  first  centered  on  the 
priests  before  whom  the  little  child  was  to  act.  It  is  next 
centered  upon  the  child,  the  marigold  flowers,  and  the  tobacco. 
In  each  sentence  which  develops  the  incident,  the  child  is 
made  the  subject  of  the  sentence.  In  each  the  marigold 
flowers  and  the  tobacco  are  mentioned.  In  the  last  sentence, 
all  these  elements  of  the  incident  are  disposed  of  by  bringing 
priest,  child,  marigold  flowers,  and  tobacco  together  to  show 
the  final  outcome  of  the  incident. 

In  the  second  composition,  the  attention  is  at  first  centered 
on  De  Vignau's  "tale  of  wonders"  and  Champlain's  resulting 
opinion  of  De  Vignau  as  a  '*  liar."  The  reason  for  this  opinion 
is  made  clear  in  the  second  sentence  by  the  use  of  the  word 
averred,  which  at  once  throws  doubt  on  the  truth  of  what  is  to 
follow,  and  by  the  expressing  in  noun  clauses  as  objects  of 
averred  the  particulars  of  the  talc  of  wonders  in  the  order  in 
which  they  were  said  to  occur.     The  final  sentence  emphasizes 


COMPOSITION  17 

Champlain's  reason  for  believing  De  Vignau  a  liar  by  point- 
ing out  the  qualities  of  the  story  which  would  tend  to  impose 
upon  any  one  and  by  stating  why  they  deceived  Champlain. 

In  the  third  composition,  the  attention  is  first  centered  on 
the  rank  of  Clive's  fortune.  The  immensity  of  this  fortune 
is  brought  out  by  expressing  the  details  in  words  which  give 
exact  sums  of  money,  very  large  in  themselves,  or  which  state 
the  ownership  of  property,  very  valuable  in  itself.  The  final 
sentence  emphasizes  the  bigness  of  Clive's  fortune  by  stating 
its  magnitude  as  compared  with  the  shortness  of  the  time  in 
which  it  had  been  made. 

In  each  of  these  compositions,  the  writer  has  helped  to 
make  unity  of  thought  evident  by  beginning  with  a  statement 
that  suggests  the  subject  and  hmits  its  scope  by  suggesting 
the  point  to  be  made ;  by  giving  the  details  in  a  definite 
order,  each  additional  detail  being  an  advance  toward  the 
point ;  by  concluding  with  a  statement  that  is  the  logical  out- 
come of  the  details  given  ;  by  expressing  the  details  in  words 
which  make  clear  the  relation  of  the  details  to  one  another 
and  to  the  point;  briefly,  by  conforming  to  the  principle  of 
coherence. 

While  the  principle  of  coherence  demands  that  ideas  be 
presented  in  definite  order,  no  one  kind  of  order  can  be  used 
in  all  compositions,  for  the  order  in  which  ideas  shall  be 
presented  depends  upon  the  nature  of  the  subject,  the 
knowledge  and  opinions  of  the  speaker  or  writer,  and  the 
kind  of  person  to  be  addressed.  In  each  different  kind  of 
composition,  however,  there  is  usually  one  method  of  arrang- 
ing ideas  which  is  commonly  followed.  For  example,  in 
stories,  the  particulars  are  usually  arranged  in  the  order  in 
which  the  events  happened.  In  descriptions  of  landscape, 
the  details  are  usually  arranged  in  the  order  in  which  they 
were  observed.     In  discussions,  the  details  are  often  arranged 


l8  PR.\CTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

in  the  order  of  advance  from  the  familiar  to  the  unfamiliar 
or  in  the  order  of  increasing  importance.  Although  the 
order  of  arrangement  of  ideas  differs  in  different  kinds  of 
composition,  there  must  be  in  every  composition  an  arrange- 
ment of  ideas  according  to  some  definite  order  suited  to  the 
subject. 

SUMMARY   IV 

Coherence  is   the  principle    of  composition  which   requires  that  the 
relation  of  ideas  to  one  another  and  to  the  point  be  made  evident. 
To  conform  to  the  principle  of  coherence: 

1.  Begin  with  an  idea   that    suggests  the    subject,  its  scope,  and 

the  point  to  be  made. 

2.  Present  ideas  so   that  each  additional  idea  shall  be  a  step  in 

advance  toward  the  point. 

3.  Conclude  with  a  statement  which  fixes  the  final  relation  of  the 

important  ideas. 

4.  Express  ideas  in  words  which  will  make  the  person  addressed 

see   clearly  the  relation  of  ideas  to  one  another  and  to  the 
point. 

EXERCISE  VII 
Criticize  the  following  compositions  for  unity  and  coherence: 


I  am  not  a  very  good  mechanic  myself,  but  I  can  explain  some  work 
that  I  have  seen  done  in  a  room  across  from  Symphony  Hall.  The  man's 
name  is  Mr.  Bryant.  He  does  almost  all  the  repairing  for  my  teacher  and 
the  Symphony  players.  He  is  a  very  skilled  artist  in  making  a  violin. 
Personally,  1  always  take  my  violin  up  there  to  be  mended.  Most  of  my 
spare  time  when  I  go  for  my  lesson  Tuesday  and  Friday  is  spent  in  Mr. 
Bryant's  private  workshop. 

The  first  thing  a  violin  has  to  have  is  sound.  Where  will  the  sound 
come  from  ?  Tlie  music  will  come  from  hollow  wood.  He  takes  a  piece 
of  foreign  wood  if  he  is  to  make  a  high-priced  violin,  such  as  a  six  hundred 
dollar  one.  He  first  spoke-shaves  this  wood  very  carefully,  using  a  vers 
fine  blade  on  his  spoke-shavc.  He  next  planes  this  wood  very  fine,  and 
then  spoke-shaves  a  beautiful  round  hack.  This  is  the  underneath  piece 
which  is  the  whole  support  of  the  violin.     The  next  thing  to  make  is  the 


COMPOSITION  ig 

upper  part.  This  part  is  very  hard  to  make.  A  piece  of  the  very  same 
wood  is  used.  This  piece  is  planed  flat,  but  slanting  down  a  little.  He 
now  takes  a  piece  of  wood  and  makes  it  round  and  about  two  inches 
thick.  This  he  glues  between  the  upper  and  the  lower  parts.  This  is 
how  the  violin  is  hollow.  The  next  and  last  part  is  to  put  on  the  part 
which  holds  the  pegs.  This  is  made  with  a  fancy  piece  of  round  wood. 
All  these  parts  of  wood  are  put  in  a  vise  and  let  dry. 

B 

In  making  this  arrow  four  things  are  needed:  (i)  a  cork  stopper  of 
good  size;  (2)  a  long  nail  that,  when  driven  through  the  stopper,  will 
stick  out  a  half  inch  or  more ;  (3)  a  good  wide  feather ;  and  (4)  good 
common  sense.  In  selecting  the  nail,  pick  out  a  good  sharp  one  and  push 
it  through  the  center.  Then  get  a  wide  feather.  I  obtained  mine  from  a 
feather-duster,  or,  if  a  person  near  you  keeps  hens,  get  two  hen  feathers,  as 
they  have  sharper  points  than  the  feathers  from  a  feather-duster.  When 
the  nail  is  in  place,  make  a  hole  right  above  the  head  and  put  the  point  of 
the  feather  into  it  good  and  tight.  Take  the  arrow,  which  is  now  made, 
and  place  your  first  finger  over  the  head  of  the  nail,  draw  back  your  arm, 
and  it  will  stick  in  better  if  you  just  toss  it,  and  your  arrow  is  fini.shed. 


I  got  up  one  morning  and  looked  out  of  the  window  to  see  what  the 
weather  was.  The  paper  had  predicted  rain,  but,  if  any  had  fallen  through 
the  night,  all  traces  of  it  were  gone,  and  I  looked  upon  a  clear  blue  sky 
and  bright  sun. 

When  I  went  out  of  doors,  the  singing  of  the  locust  in  the  field,  the 
sound  of  the  mowing  machines  on  the  neighboring  hill,  the  hot  wind  that 
met  me  as  I  came  out,  the  hot  sun  that  beat  unmercifully  on  me  as  I  went 
to  get  the  mail,  told  me  better  than  words  can  express  that  the  day  would 
be  extremely  hot. 

D 

The  abbe  then  showed  Dantes  the  sketch  he  had  made  for  their 
escape.  It  consisted  of  a  plan  of  his  own  cell  and  that  of  Dantes,  with  the 
corridor  which  united  them.  In  this  passage  he  proposed  to  form  a 
tunnel  such  as  is  employed  in  mines  ;  this  tunnel  would  conduct  the  two 
prisoners  immediately  beneath  the  gallery  where  the  sentry  kept  watch  : 
once  there,  a  large  excavation  would  be  made,  and  one  of  the  flagstones 


20  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

with  which  the  gallery  was  paved  be  so  completely  loosened  that  at  the 
desired  moment  it  would  give  way  beneath  the  soldier's  feet,  who,  falling 
into  the  excavation  below,  would  be  immediately  bound  and  gagged,  ere, 
stunned  by  the  effect  of  his  fall,  he  had  power  to  offer  any  resistance. 
The  prisoners  were  then  to  make  their  way  through  one  of  the  gallery  win- 
dows and  to  let  themselves  down  from  the  outer  walls  by  means  of  the 
abbe's  ladder  of  cords.  The  eyes  of  Dantes  sparkled  with  joy  and  he 
rubbed  his  hands  with  delight  at  the  idea  of  a  plan  so  simple,  yet  appar- 
ently so  certain  to  succeed.  —  The  Count  of  Monte-Cristo,  Dumas. 

EXERCISE   Vm 

A.  Write  a  composition  on  a  point  suggested  by  any  of  the  following 
subjects  : 

1 .  Paper-making. 

2.  True  sportsmanship. 
3-    Famous  singers. 

4.  The  practical  value  of  the  telephone. 

5.  Gymnastics. 

6.  Recent  inventions. 

7.  A  country  auction. 

8.  Experimenting  in  physics. 

9.  Adventurous  trips. 

10.  Milking. 

1 1 .  An  afternoon's  work. 

B.  In  your  composition  : 

1.  What  words  suggest  the  subject  and  the  point  to  be  made? 

2.  What  order  of  details  have  you  used? 

3.  In  what  way  is  your  final  sentence  a  true  conclusion? 

4.  What  words  help  to  make  evident  the  relation  of  details  to  one 

another  and  to  the  point? 

C.  Examine  your  work  to  see  that  you  have  expressed  your  ideas 
accurately,  that  you  have  put  the  right  mark  of  punctuation  at  the  end  of 
each  sentence,  that  you  have  used  correct  spelling  and  grammar. 

D.  Deliver  before  your  class  a  four-minute  talk  on  another  point  sug- 
gested by  this  list  of  subjects. 

I.    What  criticism  did  the  class  make  on  your  talk? 

Emphasis,  or  Mass. — A  composition  may  be  a  true  unit 
and  yet  fail  to  impress  the  person  addressed  because  the  ar- 


COMPOSITION  21 

rangement  and  the  expression  of  the  ideas  are  not  those  best 
fitted  to  bring  out  the  point.  If  a  composition  is  to  catch 
and  to  hold  the  attention  of  the  person  addressed,  the  im- 
portant ideas  must  be  made  emphatic. 

There  are  four  ways  of  giving  emphasis  to  important  ideas. 
First,  they  may  be  put  into  important  places.  The  most  im- 
portant places  in  a  composition  are,  naturally,  the  beginning 
and  the  end  :  the  beginning,  because  the  first  thing  heard  or 
read  is  likely  to  catch  the  attention  of  the  person  addressed ; 
the  end,  because  the  last  thing  heard  or  read  is  Hkely  to  be 
longest  remembered.  Second,  ideas  may  be  arranged  in  the 
order  of  increasing  force  ;  i.e.,  in  the  order  of  climax.  Third, 
important  ideas  may  be  developed  at  greater  length  than 
other  ideas  in  the  composition.  Fourth,  important  ideas  may 
be  expressed  in  clear,  simple,  vivid  words  that  in  themselves 
catch  and  hold  the  attention. 

Read  the  following  selection,  noticing  how  the  deserved- 
ness  of  the  impeachment  of  Warren  Hastings  is  emphasized 
by  the  use  of  a  climactic  arrangement  of  ideas  so  that  each 
additional  statement  increases  both  the  number  and  the  im- 
portance of  the  people  whom  Hastings  has  injured  and  the 
seriousness  of  the  injury  he  has  inflicted  : 

...  I  impeach  Warren  Hastings  of  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors. 
I  impeach  him  in  the  name  of  the  Commons"'  House  of  Parliament,  whose 
trust  he  has  betrayed.  I  impeach  him  in  the  name  of  the  English  nation, 
whose  ancient  honor  he  has  sullied.  I  impeach  him  in  the  name  of  the 
people  of  India,  whose  rights  he  has  trodden  under  foot,  and  whose  coun- 
try he  has  turned  into  a  desert.  Lastly,  in  the  name  of  human  nature 
itself,  in  the  name  of  both  sexes,  in  the  name  of  every  age,  in  the  name  of 
every  rank,  I  impeach  the  common  enemy  and  oppressor  of  all  I 

—  The  Impeachment  of  Warren  Hastings,  Ed.mund  Burke. 

In  the  following  selection,  notice  how  the  effectiveness  of 
the  sermon  is  emphasized  by  the  climactic  arrangement  of 


2  2  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH    CUMPUiSlTlUN 

the    ideas    which    express    the    results  of  the   sermon   upon 
Franklin  : 

...  I  happened  soon  after  to  attend  one  of  his  [Mr.  Whitefield's] 
sermons,  in  the  course  of  which  I  perceived  he  intended  to  finish  with  a 
collection  and  I  silently  resolved  he  should  get  nothing  from  me.  I  had 
in  my  pocket  a  handful  of  copper  money,  three  or  four  silver  dollars,  and 
five  pistoles  in  gold.  As  he  proceeded  1  began  to  soften  and  concluded 
to  give  the  coppers.  Another  stroke  of  his  oratory  made  me  ashamed  of 
that  and  determined  me  to  give  the  silver  :  and  he  finished  so  admirably, 
that  I  emptied  my  pocket  wholly  into  the  collector's  dish,  gold  and  all. 

—  Autobiogrcip/iy,  Franklin. 

Read  the  following  selection,  noticing  how  the  difference 
in  the  amount  of  space  given  to  the  two  travelers  emphasizes 
the  difference  in  their  importance  : 

Doesn^t  anybody  either  get  in  or  out  of  this  train  .''  Miss  Gregory 
wondered  indignantly,  and  then  composed  herself  swiftly  to  the  incurious 
and  semi-torpid  aspect  proper  to  travel  in  the  more  civilized  lands.  The 
tall  station  master  was  opening  the  door  of  her  compartment  to  admit  a 
couple  of  travelers.  Miss  Gregory,  with  her  hands  in  her  lap,  lifted  her 
eyes  slowly  to  inspect  them  as  they  took  their  seats  opposite  to  her. 

The  station  master  slammed  the  door  and  the  train  resumed  its  spas- 
modic progress.  When  it  was  clear  of  the  station.  Miss  Gregory  looked 
up  again.  One  of  her  fellow  travelers  was  plainly  a  maid,  a  servant :  it  was 
the  other  whom  she  found  interesting.  She  was  a  woman  still  short  of 
thirty  years  of  age,  dressed  with  an  extreme  simplicity,  and  she  showed  to 
the  light  of  the  overhead  lamp  a  thin,  painful,  desperate  face.  She  leaned 
back  against  the  cushions  as  if  she  were  shrinking  from  an  attack,  and, 
though  she  held  her  features  rigid,  her  fingers  were  fidgeting  in  a  nervous 
agony.  Her  attitude,  her  expression,  spoke  of  an  overmastering  terror  ;  the 
woman  was  tense  as  a  fiddle-string  with  fear  and  fatigue. 

Miss  Gregory  had  forgotten  to  hide  her  inspection  of  her  and  found 
suddenly  that  her  gaze  was  being  returned. 

—  The  Adventures  of  Miss  Gregory^  Percival  Gibbon. 

Read  the  following  composition,  noticing  how  the  placing 
and  the  wording  of  the  ideas  emphasizes  the  sacredness  of 


COMPOSITION  23 

the  cause  for  which  the  dead  who  fell  at  Gettysburg  sacrificed 
their  lives : 

Fourscore  and  seven  years  ago  our  fathers  brought  forth  upon  this 
continent  a  new  nation,  conceived  in  liberty,  and  dedicated  to  the  proposi- 
tion that  all  men  are  created  equal.  Now  we  are  engaged  in  a  great  civil 
war,  testing  whether  that  nation,  or  any  nation  so  conceived  and  so  dedi- 
cated, can  long  endure.  We  are  met  on  a  great  battlefield  of  that  war. 
We  have  come  to  dedicate  a  portion  of  that  field  as  a  final  resting-place  for 
those  who  here  gave  their  lives  that  that  nation  might  live.  It  is  altogether 
fitting  and  proper  that  we  should  do  this.  But  in  a  larger  sense,  we  cannot 
dedicate,  we  cannot  consecrate,  we  cannot  hallow  this  ground.  The  brave 
men,  living  and  dead,  who  struggled  here,  have  consecrated  it  far  above  our 
power  to  add  or  detract.  The  world  will  little  note,  nor  long  remember, 
what  we  say  here,  but  it  can  never  forget  what  they  did  here.  It  is  for  us, 
the  living,  rather  to  be  dedicated  here  to  the  unfinished  work  which  they 
who  fought  here  have  thus  far  so  nobly  advanced.  It  is  rather  for  us  to 
be  here  dedicated  to  the  great  task  remaining  before  us,  that  from  these 
honored  dead  we  take  increased  devotion  to  that  cause  for  which  they 
gave  the  last  full  measure  of  devotion  ;  that  we  here  highly  resolve  that 
these  dead  shall  not  have  died  in  vain  ;  that  this  nation,  under  God,  shall 
have  a  new  birth  of  freedom,  and  that  government  of  the  people,  by  the 
people,  and  for  the  people,  shall  not  perish  from  the  earth. 

—  The  Gettysburg  Address^  Lincoln. 

SUMMARY   V 

Emphasis  is  the  principle  of  composition  which  requires  that  important 
ideas  be  so  placed  and  so  expressed  as  to  catch  and  to  hold  the  attention. 
To  conform  to  the  principle  of  emphasis  : 

1.  Put  important  ideas  in  important  places. 

2.  Arrange  ideas  in  the  order  of  cUmax. 

3.  Give   to   ideas  an  amount  of  time  or   space  proportionate  to 

their  importance. 

4.  Express  ideas  in  words  which  in  themselves  catch  and  hold  the 

attention. 

EXERCISE  IX 

Show  how  emphasis  is  gained  in  each  of  the  following  compositions : 


24  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 


Into  the  room  walked  a  man  of  fifty,  with  a  long,  pale,  pock-marked 
face,  with  long  gray  hair  and  a  sparse  reddish  beard.  He  was  of  such  vast 
height,  that,  in  order  to  pass  through  the  door,  he  was  obliged  to  bend 
not  only  his  head  but  his  whole  body.  He  wore  a  ragged  garment  which 
resembled  both  a  kaftan  and  a  cassock :  in  his  hand  he  carried  a  husfe 
staff.  As  he  entered  the  room,  he  smote  the  floor  with  it  with  all  his 
might ;  opening  his  mouth  and  wrinkling  his  brows,  he  laughed  in  a  ter- 
rible and  unnatural  manner.  He  was  blind  of  one  eye ;  and  the  white  of 
that  eye  hopped  about  incessantly  and  imparted  to  his  already  homely 
countenance  a  still  more  repulsive  expression. 

"Aha!  Fve  found  you!"  he  shouted,  running  up  to  Volodya  with  little 
steps ;  he  seized  his  head  and  began  a  careful  examination  of  his  crown. 
Then,  with  a  perfectly  serious  expression,  he  left  him,  walked  up  to  the 
table  and  began  to  blow  under  the  oilcloth,  and  to  make  the  sign  of  the 
cross  over  it.  "  0-oh,  it's  a  pity!  O-oh,  it^s  sad!  The  dear  children  .  .  . 
will  fly  away,"  he  said  in  a  voice  quivering  with  tears,  gazing  feelingly  at 
Volodya;  and  he  began  to  wipe  away  the  tears,  which  were  actually  falling, 
with  his  sleeve.  * 

His  voice  was  coarse  and  hoarse,  his  movements  hasty  and  rough  ;  his 
talk  was  silly  and  incoherent  (he  never  used  any  pronouns)  ;  but  his  in- 
tonations were  so  touching,  and  his  grotesque  yellow  face  assumed  at  times 
such  a  frankly  sorrowful  expression,  that,  in  listening  to  him,  it  was  impos- 
sible to  refrain  from  a  feeling  of  mingled  pity,  fear,  and  grief. 

This  was  the  fool  and  pilgrim,  Grischa.  —  Childhood^  ToLSTOl. 

B 

It  was  already  dusk  when  we  reached  home.  Mamma  seated  herself  at 
the  piano,  and  we  children  fetched  our  paper,  pencils,  and  paints,  and 
settled  ourselves  about  the  round  table  at  our  drawing.  I  had  only  blue 
paint ;  nevertheless,  I  undertook  to  depict  the  hunt.  After  representing, 
in  a  very  lively  style,  a  blue  boy  mounted  on  a  blue  horse,  and  some  blue 
dogs,  I  was  not  quite  sure  whether  I  could  paint  a  blue  hare,  and  ran  to 
papa  in  his  study  to  take  advice  on  the  matter.  Papa  was  reading;  and 
in  answer  to  my  question,  "  Are  there  any  blue  hares?  "  he  said,  without 
raising  his  head,  "Yes,  my  dear,  there  are."  I  went  back  to  the  round 
table  and  painted  a  blue  hare ;  then  I  found  it  necessary  to  turn  the  blue 
hare  into  a  bush.     The  bush  did  not  please  me  either;  I  turned  it  into  a 


COMPOSITION 


25 


tree,  and  the  tree  into  a  stack  of  hay,  and  the  haystack  into  a  cloud  ;  and 
finally  I  blotted  my  whole  paper  so  with  blue  paint  that  I  tore  it  up  in 
vexation  and  went  off  to  doze  on  the  long  sofa-chair. 

—  Childhood,  Tolstoi. 


It  matters  very  little  what  immediate  spot  may  have  been  the  birthplace 
of  such  a  man  as  Washington.  No  people  can  claim,  no  country  can 
appropriate,  him.  The  boon  of  Providence  to  the  human  race,  his  fame 
is  eternity  and  his  dwelling-place  creation.  —  Everett. 

D 

Must  I  budge?  Must  I  observe  you?  Must  I  stand  and  crouch  under 
your  testy  humor? — Julius  Ccssar,  Shakespeare. 


CHAPTER    II 
ORAL  COMPOSITION 

Practically,  the  form  of  composition  in  which  skill  is  most 
widely  useful  is  oral  composition,  because  speech  is  the  great 
medium  of  intercourse  in  both  the  work  and  the  social  Ufe  of 
the  world.  The  need  of  skill  in  handling  formal  oral  com- 
positions like  talks,  addresses,  lectures,  etc.,  is  so  evident  that 
the  speaker  naturally  chooses  his  point  with  care  and  does 
his  best  to  develop  it  so  as  to  interest  and  to  impress  his 
hearers.  In  the  less  formal  compositions  of  everyday  hfe, 
however,  like  the  remarks  which  make  up  the  casual  business 
conversation  or  the  give  and  take  of  social  talk,  the  need  of 
skill  is  so  disregarded  that  too  often  the  speaker  gives  no 
thought  as  to  just  what  point  he  shall  make  or  just  how  he 
shall  make  it.  He  speaks  at  random,  leaves  out  necessary  de- 
tails, puts  in  unimportant  details,  wanders  from  the  point,  or 
expresses  himself  in  slipshod  language.  Yet  it  is  in  this  less 
formal  oral  composition  that  skill  in  construction  is  of  greatest 
importance  to  most  people,  because  of  the  large  part  the  abil- 
ity to  speak  effectively  plays  in  business  and  social  success. 

The  kinds  of  informal  oral  composition  in  which  skill  is 
most  needed  are  ordinary  conversations,  answers  to  questions, 
explanations,  the  giving  of  directions,  and  short  reports. 

Conversation.  —  Read  the  following  conversation,  noticing 
that  Mrs.  Tulliver,  first,  by  failing  to  suggest  the  point  of  her 
call,  second,  by  introducing  details  in  no  way  connected  with 
the  point,  and,  third,  by  using  the  wrong  set  of  details,  even 
though  they  bear  on  the  point,  not  only  fails  to  accomplish 

26 


ORAL   COMPOSITION  27 

the  purpose  of   her  visit,   but  ruins  her  cause  by   bringing 
about  the  direct  opposite  of  what  she  set  out  to  accomplish : 

"Mrs.  Tulliver,  I  think  ?  "  said  Mr.  Wakem. 

"Yes,  sir;  Miss  Elizabeth  Dodson  as  was." 

"  Pray  be  seated.     You  have  some  business  with  rae?" 

"  Well,  sir,  yes,"  said  Mrs.  Tulliver,  beginning  to  feel  alarmed  at  her 
own  courage,  now  she  was  really  in  presence  of  the  formidable  man,  and 
reflecting  that  she  had  not  settled  with  herself  how  she  should  begin.  Mr. 
Wakem  felt  in  his  waistcoat  pockets,  and  looked  at  her  in  silence. 

"  I  hope,  sir/'  she  began  at  last,  —  "I  hope,  sir,  youVe  not  a-thinking  as 
/  bear  you  any  ill-will  because  o'  my  husband's  losing  his  lawsuit,  and  the 
bailies  being  put  in,  and  the  linen  being  sold  —  oh  dear! — for  I  wasn't 
brought  up  in  that  way.  I'm  sure  you  remember  my  father,  sir,  for  he  was 
close  friends  with  Squire  Darleigh,  and  we  allays  went  to  the  dances  there, 
the  Miss  Dodsons,  —  nobody  could  be  more  looked  on,  —  and  justly,  for 
there  was  four  of  us,  and  you're  quite  aware  as  Mrs.  Glegg  and  Mrs.  Deane 
are  my  sisters.  And  as  for  going  to  law  and  losing  money,  and  having 
sales  before  you're  dead,  I  never  saw  anything  o'  that  before  I  was  married, 
nor  for  a  long  while  after.  And  I'm  not  to  be  answerable  for  my  bad 
luck  i'  marrying  out  o'  my  own  family  into  one  where  the  goings-on  was 
different.  And  as  for  being  drawn  in  V  abuse  you  as  other  folks  abuse 
you,  sir,  t/iat  I  niver  was.  and  nobody  can  say  it  of  me." 

Mrs.  Tulliver  shook  her  head  a  little,  and  looked  at  the  hem  of  her 
pocket  handkerchief. 

"  Pve  no  doubt  of  what  you  say,  Mrs.  Tulliver."  said  Mr.  Wakem,  with 
cold  politeness.     "  But  you  have  some  question  to  ask  me  ?" 

"Well,  sir,  yes.  But  that's  what  I've  said  to  myself,  —  Pve  said  you'd 
had  some  natVal  feeling ;  and  as  for  my  husband,  as  hasn't  been  himself 
for  this  two  months,  I'm  not  a-defending  him,  in  no  way,  for  being  so  hot 
about  th'  erigation,  —  not  but  what  there's  worse  men,  for  he  never 
wronged  nobody  of  a  shilling  nor  a  penny,  not  willingly ;  and  as  for  his 
fieriness  and  lawing.  what  could  I  do  ?  And  him  struck  as  if  it  was  with 
death  when  he  got  the  letter  as  said  you'd  the  hold  upo'  the  land.  But  1 
can't  believe  but  what  you'll  behave  as  a  gentleman." 

"What  does  all  this  mean,  Mrs.  Tulliver?"  said  Mr.  Wakem,  rather 
sharply.     "What  do  you  want  to  ask  me?" 

"Why,  sir,  if  you'll  be  so  good,''  said  Mrs.  Tulliver.  starting  a  little,  and 
speaking  more  hurriedly.  —  "  if  you'll  he  so  good  not  to  buy  the  mill  an' 


28  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

the  land,  —  the  land  wouldn't  so  much  matter,  only  my  husband  'uU  be  like 
mad  at  your  having  it." 

Something  like  a  new  thought  flashed  across  Mr.  Wakem's  face  as  he 
said,  '*Who  told  you  I  meant  to  buy  it?" 

"Why,  sir,  it's  none  o'  my  inventing,  and  I  should  never  ha'  thought  of 
it;  for  my  husband,  as  ought  to  know  about  the  law,  he  allays  used  to  say 
as  lawyers  had  never  no  call  to  buy  anything,  —  either  lands  or  houses, — 
for  they  allays  got  'em  into  their  hands  other  ways.  An'  I  should  think 
that  'ud  be  the  way  with  you,  sir ;  and  I  niver  said  as  you'd  be  the  man  to 
do  contrairy  to  that." 

"  Ah,  well,  who  was  it  that  did  say  so?  "  said  Wakem,  opening  his  desk, 
and  moving  things  about,  with  the  accompaniment  of  an  almost  inaudible 
whistle. 

"  Why,  sir,  it  was  Mr.  Glegg  and  Mr.  Deane,  as  have  all  the  manage- 
ment, and  Mr.  Deane  thinks  as  Guest  &  Co.  'ud  buy  the  mill  and  let  Mr. 
Tulliver  work  it  for  'em,  if  you  didn't  bid  for  it  and  raise  the  price.  And 
it  'ud  be  such  a  thing  for  my  husband  to  stay  where  he  is,  if  he  could  get 
his  Hving;  for  it  was  his  father's  before  him,  the  mill  was,  and  his  grand- 
father built  it,  though  I  wasn't  fond  o'  the  noise  of  it,  when  first  I  was  mar- 
ried, for  there  was  no  mills  in  our  family,  —  not  the  Dodsons',  —  and  if  Fd 
known  as  the  mills  had  so  much  to  do  with  the  law,  it  wouldn't  have  been 
me  as  'ud  have  been  the  first  Dodson  to  marry  one ;  but  I  went  into  it 
blindfold,  that  I  did,  erigation  and  everything." 

"What!  Guest  &  Co.  would  keep  the  mill  in  their  own  hands,  I  sup- 
pose, and  pay  your  husband  wages?  " 

"  Oh,  dear,  sir,  it's  hard  to  think  of,"  said  poor  Mrs.  Tulliver,  a  little 
tear  making  its  way,  "as  my  husband  should  take  wage.  But  it  'ud  look 
more  like  what  used  to  be,  to  stay  at  the  mill  than  to  go  anywhere  else ; 
and  if  you'll  only  think  —  if  you  was  to  bid  for  the  mill  and  buy  it,  my 
husband  might  be  struck  worse  than  he  was  before,  and  niver  get  better 
again  as  he's  getting  now." 

"  Well,  but  if  I  bought  the  mill  and  allowed  your  husband  to  act  as  my 
manager  in  the  same  way,  how  then?"  said  Mr.  Wakem. 

"  Oh,  sir,  I  doubt  he  could  niver  be  got  to  do  it,  not  if  the  very  mill  stood 
still  to  beg  and  pray  of  him.  For  your  name's  like  poison  to  him,  it's  so  as 
never  was ;  and  he  looks  upon  it  as  you've  been  the  ruin  of  him  all  along, 
ever  since  you  set  the  law  on  him  about  the  road  through  the  meadow, — 
that's  eight  year  ago,  and  he's  been  going  on  ever  since  —  as  I've  allays 
told  him  he  was  wrong  —  " 


ORAL   COMPOSITION  '  29 

"  He's  a  pig-headed,  foul-mouthed  fool!"  burst  out  Mr.  Wakem,  forget- 
ting himself. 

"Oh,  dear,  sir!"  said  Mrs.  Tulliver,  frightened  at  a  result  so  different 
from  the  one  she  had  fixed  her  mind  on ;  "I  wouldn't  wish  to  contradict 
you,  but  it's  like  enough  he's  changed  his  mind  with  this  illness,  —  he's 
forgot  a  many  things  he  used  to  talk  about.  And  you  wouldn't  like  to 
have  a  corpse  on  your  mind,  if  he  was  to  die ;  and  they  do  say  as  it's  allays 
unlucky  when  Dorlcote  Mill  changes  hands,  and  the  water  might  all  run 
away,  and  theji  —  not  as  I'm  wishing  you  any  ill-luck,  sir,  for  I  forgot  to 
tell  you  as  I  remember  your  wedding  as  if  it  was  yesterday ;  Mrs.  Wakem 
was  a  Miss  Clint,  I  know  that ;  and  my  boy,  as  there  isn't  a  nicer,  hand- 
somer, straighter  boy  nowhere,  went  to  school  with  your  son  —  " 

Mr.  Wakem  rose,  opened  the  door,  and  called  to  one  of  his  clerks. 
"You  must  excuse  me  for  interrupting  you,  Mrs.  Tulliver;  I  have  busi- 
ness that  must  be  attended  to  ;  and  I  think  there  is  nothing  more  necessary 
to  be  said." 

"  But  if  you  would  ht2ir  it  in  mind,  sir,"  said  Mrs.  Tulliver,  rising,  "and 
not  run  against  me  and  my  children ;  and  I'm  not  denying  Mr.  Tulliver's 
been  in  the  wrong,  but  he's  been  punished  enough,  and  there's  worse  men, 
for  it's  been  giving  to  other  folks  has  been  his  fault.  He's  done  nobody 
any  harm  but  himself  and  his  family,  —  the  more's  the  pity,  —  and  I  go 
and  look  at  the  bare  shelves  every  day,  and  think  where  all  my  things  used 
to  stand." 

"Yes,  yes,  I'll  bear  it  in  mind,"  said  Mr.  Wakem,  hastily,  looking 
towards  the  open  door. 

"  And  if  you'd  please  not  to  say  as  I've  been  to  speak  to  you,  for  my  son 
'ud  be  very  angry  with  me  for  demeaning  myself,  I  know  he  would,  and 
I've  trouble  enough  without  being  scolded  by  my  children."' 

Poor  Mrs.  Tulliver's  voice  trembled  a  little,  and  she  could  make  no 
answer  to  the  attorney's  "good  morning,"  but  curtsied  and  walked  out  in 
silence. 

"Which  day  is  it  that  Dorlcote  Mill  is  to  be  sold?  Where's  the  bill?" 
said  Mr.  Wakem  to  his  clerk  when  they  were  alone. 

"Next  Friday  is  the  day,  —  Friday  at  six  o'clock." 

"Oh,  just  run  to  Winship's  the  auctioneer,  and  see  if  he's  at  home.  I 
have  business  for  him  ;  ask  him  to  come  up." 

Although,  when  Mr.  Wakem  entered  his  office  that  morning,  he  had 
had  no  intention  of  purchasing  Dorlcote  Mill,  his  mind  was  already  made 
up.     Mrs.  Tulliver  had  suggested  to  him  several  determining  motives,  and 


30  f'RAcrir\L  i:.\(;lish  c  omi-osi  i  iov 

his  mental  glance  was  very  rapid  ;  he  was  one  of  those  men  who  can  be 
prompt  without  being  rash,  because  their  motives  nm  in  fixed  tracks,  and 
they  have  no  need  to  reconcile  conflicting  aims. 

—  The  Mill  on  the  Floss ^  George  Eliot. 

Success  in  Conversation.  —  The  person  who  wishes  to  make 
a  success  of  his  share  in  a  conversation,  whether  business  or 
social,  must  at  once  do  one  of  two  things:  (i)  he  must  get 
the  trend  of  a  conversation  which  has  already  been  started, 
or  (2)  he  must  give  trend  to  conversation  which  he  starts 
himself.  This  done,  he  must  see  to  it:  (i)  that  he  uses 
details  which  will  make  his  point;  (2)  that  what  he  says  is 
always  an  advance  toward  the  point  of  the  conversation ; 
(3)  that  it  fits  into  the  conversation  at  the  place  where  he  puts 
it;  (4)  that  he  expresses  himself  in  language  so  accurate  and 
so  clear  that  he  cannot  fail  to  be  understood. 

For  example,  in  the  conversation  in  the  following  narrative 
notice  that  Mr.  Jefferson  in  his  reply  to  the  French  Minister 
made  his  point,  Franklin's  worth,  by  means  of  two  well- 
chosen  details  expressed  in  accurate  and  simple  language: 

"You  replace  Dr.  Franklin,  I  hear,"  said  the  French  iMinister,  Count 
de  Vergennes,  to  Mr.  JeiTerson,  who  had  been  sent  to  Paris  to  relieve  our 
most  popular  representative.  "I  succeed  him;  no  man  can  replace  him," 
was  the  felicitous. reply  of  the  man  who  became  highly  esteemed  in  the 
most  polite  court  of  Europe.  —  Pushing  to  tJic  Front,  O.  S.  Mardex. 

The  Anecdote.  —  As  a  whole,  the  preceding  narrative  is  an 
anecdote ;  i.e.,  a  short,  pithy,  pointed  narration  of  a  real 
happening.  It  develops  briefly  and  pointedly  one  of  the 
characteristics  for  which  Mr.  Jefferson  was  noted  —  social 
tact.  It  may,  therefore,  be  used  to  give  point  to  a  discussion 
of  Mr.  Jefferson's  character,  or  it  may  serve  in  a  conversa- 
tion or  an  address  to  illustrate  the  effective  use  of  graceful, 
courteous  speech. 

Because  of  the  double  significance  of  the  anecdote,   this 


ORAL   COMPOSITION  31 

form  of  narrative  is  often  used  to  give  point  to  a  conversation 
or  a  public  speech. 

In  the  following  anecdote,  notice  the  directness  and  the 
courtesy  with  which  Mr.  Jefferson  at  the  same  time  gave  a 
reprimand  and  a  lesson  in  politeness  to  his  grandson : 

President  Jefferson  was  one  day  riding  with  his  grandson,  when  they 
met  a  slave,  who  took  off  his  hat  and  bowed.  The  President  returned  the 
salutation  by  raising  his  hat,  but  the  grandson  ignored  the  civility  of  the 
negro.  "  Thomas,"  said  the  grandfather,  ''  do  you  permit  a  slave  to  be 
more  of  a  gentleman  than  yourself  ? " 

—  Pushing  to  the  Front,  O.  S.  Marden. 

Read  the  following  anecdote,  noticing  the  brevity  and  the 
definiteness  with  which  the  double  point  is  made  : 

A  young  man  went  to  Socrates  to  learn  oratory.  On  being  introduced, 
he  talked  so  incessantly  that  Socrates  asked  for  double  fees.  "  Why 
charge  me  double  ? ""  asked  the  young  fellow.  ''  Because,''  said  the  orator, 
"  I  must  teach  you  two  sciences  :  the  one  to  hold  your  tongue,  the  other 
how  to  speak."  —  Architects  of  Fate ^  O.  S.  Marden. 

In  the  following  anecdote,  notice  the  quickness  of  wit  with 
which  Henry  Clay  turned  the  ridiculousness  of  the  accident 
against  the  institution  : 

Many  years  ago  Henry  Clay  visited  Princeton  and  was  asked  by  Presi- 
dent McLean  (Johnnie,  as  he  was  famiharly  and  popularly  called)  to  sit 
down  in  the  president's  study.  The  furniture  was  not  elaborate  in  those 
days,  nor  did  it  consist  of  the  most  solid  material.  Mr.  Clay  sat  down, 
and  the  rickety  old  chair  which  was  proffered  him  sank  beneath  his  weight. 
The  statesman,  rising  from  the  floor,  said  solemnly,  ''  Dr.  McLean,  I  hope 
that  the  other  chairs  of  this  institution  are  on  a  more  permanent  founda- 
tion." —  Cooper  {The  Century  Magazine'), 

EXERCISE  I 

1.  Repeat  an  interesting  conversation  that  you  have  heard  recently. 

2.  Tell  an  anecdote  about  a  well-known  author,  a  famous  statesman,  a 
noted  musician,  a  brilliant  general,  a  successful  business  man. 


32  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

In  each  of  your  talks  : 

a.  Did  the  class  get  the  point  ? 

b.  Did  the  class  get  the  impression  that  you  meant  to  give? 

c.  What  did  the  class  think  of  your  presentation  of  details  ? 

d.  What  did  the  class  think  of  your  choice  of  language  ? 

Answering  Questions.  —  The  person  who  is  answering  ques- 
tions must  give  close  attention  to  each  question  and  be  sure 
to  take  in  its  meaning;  then  (i)  he  must  consider  the  ques- 
tion to  see  what  is  required ;  (2)  he  must  mass  his  knowledge 
on  that  point;  (3)  he  must  frame  his  answer  in  accurate 
English,  so  clear  that  it  camtot  be  misunderstood. 

EXERCISE  II 

State  to  your  class  answers  to  the  following  questions  : 

1.  What  are  the  political  parties  in  the  United  States  at  present, and 
what  is  the  platform  of  each  ? 

2.  In  what  ways  do  the  business  occupations  in  your  locality  depend 
upon  the  natural  resources  of  your  part  of  the  country  ? 

3.  Why  is  the  United  States  Government  preserving  the  forests  ? 

4.  What  steps  are  being  taken  in  your  community  to  create  or  to  pre- 
serve public  parks  and  playgrounds  ? 

5.  What  are  the  advantages  of  public  parks  and  playgrounds  ? 

6.  What  are  the  objections  to  public  parks  and  playgrounds  ? 

7.  What  have  strikes  done  for  the  laboring  man? 

8.  How  do  you  play  hockey  ? 

9.  What  are  the  attractions  in  the  favorite  sport  of  your  locality  ? 

10.  What  important  discoveries  have  been  made  in  the  last  five  years  ? 
What  is  the  practical  advantage  of  each  discovery  ? 

1 1 .  What  is  the  equipment  for  wireless  telegraphy  ? 

12.  How  has  wireless  telegraphy  affected  business  and  social  life  ? 

13.  What  was  your  last  scheme  for  entertaining  your  friends  and  how 
did  it  work  out  ? 

14.  What  is  the  most  effective  labor-saving  device  used  in  your  locality, 
and  what  are  its  advantages  ? 

15.  What  is  the  practical  value  of  the  public  library  in  your  town  or 
locality  ? 


ORAL   COMPOSITION 


33 


Explanations.  —  The  person  who  has  to  make  an  explana- 
tion must  first  state  exactly  what  he  is  to  explain  ;  second, 
he  must  tell  clearly,  in  language  so  simple  that  it  must  be 
understood  :  {a)  what  the  thing  is ;  or  {b)  why  the  thing  is 
done  ;  or  {c)  how  the  thing  is  done. 

EXERCISE  III 

1 .  Tell  what  a  skee,  a  snowshoe,  a  roller  skate,  a  bicycle,  or  a  canoe  is, 
and  tell  how  it  is  used. 

2.  Tell  what  an  elevator  is  and  explain  how  it  is  run. 

3.  Tell  how  to  mend  a  tire,  a  harness,  or  a  rudder. 

4.  Tell  how  to  trim  a  sail,  how  to  cut  down  a  tree,  how  to  drive  a  horse, 
how  to  play  chess,  or  how  to  fly  a  kite. 

5.  Tell  why  a  camp  fire  should  be  put  out  before  a  camp  is  left  alone. 

6.  Tell  why  it  is  harmful  to  push  in  a  crowd. 

7.  Tell  how  a  cranberry  bog  or  a  rice  field  is  prepared  and  how  the 
crop  is  cared  for. 

8.  Tell  how  sea  walls,  dikes,  or  irrigation  systems  are  constructed  and 
used. 

Giving  Directions.  —  The  person  who  has  to  give  direc- 
tions is  called  upon  to  give  them  in  one  of  two  ways  :  either 
in  the  form  of  general  directions  to  an  expert  who  plans 
out  details  for  himself,  or  in  the  form  of  exact  orders  to 
the  untrained  individual  who  can  be  expected  to  execute 
only  such  details  as  are  given  to  him.  In  giving  orders  to 
people  not  experts,  a  person  must  know  just  what  he  wants 
done  and  just  what  steps  are  necessary  to  accomplish  it;  he 
must  give  as  few  commands  as  possible  ;  he  must  emphasize 
those  details  the  omission  of  which  will  produce  an  unsatis- 
factory result ;  he  must  use  the  language  which  the  person 
addressed  canjiot  fail  to  U7idersta7id. 

EXERCISE   IV 

Give  to  an  untrained  person  directions  for  managing  a  double-runner, 
for  making  some  fancy  figure  in  skating,  for  rowing  a  boat,  for  making  a 


34  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

camp  fire,  for  making  butter,  for  making  a  trap,  for  using  a  kodak,  for  mak- 
ing a  pattern,  for  regukiting  an  oven,  for  washing  china,  for  taking  care  of 
a  pantry,  for  running  a  machine,  or  for  setting  up  apparatus  for  an 
experiment. 

Reports.  —  The  person  who  is  to  make  an  oral  report  of 
something  that  he  has  read,  of  something  that  he  has  heard, 
or  of  something  that  he  has  investigated,  must  first  get  a 
clear  and  true  impression  of  the  point  made  by  the  author 
or  of  the  pith  of  the  matter  investigated ;  he  must  then 
select  the  essential  details ;  i.e.,  those  which  give  the  true 
impression  of  the  thing  to  be  reported  on  ;  and  he  must 
finally  decide  (i)  upon  the  order  in  which  these  details  must 
be  told  to  convey  this  true  impression,  (2)  upon  the  pro- 
portion of  time  to  be  given  to  each  detail,  and  (3)  upon  the 
words  which  will  make  the  true  impression  vivid. 

EXERCISE   V 

1.  Summarize  for  your  class  in  EngHsh  the  points  made  in  the  last 
recitation  of  your  class  in  history. 

2.  Give  to  your  English  chiss  an  account  of  a  man  who  has  been  a 
popular  hero  within  the  last  five  years. 

3.  Make  clear  to  your  class  the  nature  and  the  practical  value  of  some 
recent  invention  that  you  have  seen  used. 

4.  Give  to  your  class  an  abstract  of  some  poem  that  has  been  assigned 
to  you  for  careful  study. 

5.  Tell  briefly  the  last  long  story  that  you  read  for  pleasure. 

6.  Tell  why  your  favorite  magazine  is  worth  reading. 

7.  Explain  clearly  to  your  class  the  purpose  and  the  details  of  your  last 
experiment  in  botany,  zoology,  physics,  or  chemistry. 

8.  Explain  the  construction  of  such  a  bottle  as  the  Thermos  bottle. 

9.  Criticize  for  unity,  coherence,  and  emphasis  and  for  choice  of  words 
your  own  recitations  and  the  recitations  of  your  classmates  in  .subjects 
other  than  English. 

Translation.  —  A  somewhat  different  kind  of  oral  com- 
position, and  one  that  is  often  handled  very  unskillfully,  is 


ORAL   CDAII'OSTTrON 


35 


the  translating  a  foreign  language  into  English.  If  such 
work  is  to  be  well  done,  the  person  who  is  translating  must 
first  get  the  meaning  of  what  he  is  to  translate  and  must 
then  express  the  ideas  in  the  English  words  and  in  the 
English  constructions  that  will  give  the  same  meaning  and 
the  same  impression  as  the  original. 

EXERCISE   VI 

Put  into  idiomatic  English  the  following  class  translations  : 

1.  The  sick  woman  raised  her  head  a  little  vividly.  Madame  Richard 
possessed  a  voice  singularly  soft ;  the  governess  of  Wanda,  simply  but 
correctly  dressed,  had  a  great  air  of  distinction.  The  Princess  who  had 
accepted  the  hand  of  her  sister-in-law,  to  avoid  all  bustle,  had  not  been 
without  inquietude  to  the  subject.  The  rapid  examination  was  very 
favorable  to  Madame  Richard.  Her  face,  eyes,  all  the  same  might  prove 
an  error;  the  voice,  never. 

2.  When  people  are  poor  they  are  naturally  found  with  the  poor.  But  if 
Wanda  studied  and  played  with  the  little  butcher's  daughter  she  did  not 
savor  the  shop.  It  will  be  a  pity,  I  believe,  that  she  forget  her  first  vears. 
When  people  are  rich  they  are  all  naturally  to  be  charitable,  but  when 
people  have  seen  misery  near  them  they  are  charitable  with  grace. 

3.  It  was  a  large  season  of  working  in  the  fields  and  Peter  was  very  glad 
to  prove  that  he  had  not  been  inuseful  to  the  farmer.  He  was  often  very 
tired  when  evening  would  come,  but  he  ate  well,  grew  visibly  stronger, 
and  everybody  was  content  of  him.  It  would  seem  to  our  poor  little  waif 
who  had  almost  died  of  hunger,  whose  endless  days'  journeys  of  the  long 
route  had  exhausted  his  strength,  if  not  his  courage,  that  he  was  between 
a  sort  of  paradise.  He  himself  came  to  a  great  temptation  to  stay  near 
those  brave  people  who  had  welcomed  him.  Yes!  But  what  would 
become  to  go  his  great  resolutions? 

4.  It  is  still  at  Auvergne  who  was  born,  in  the  year  1768.  a  man  of  war 
equally  known  by  his  courage  and  by  his  honesty:  Desaix.  Desaix,  at 
the  age  of  twenty-six  years,  was  already  general.  He  took  part  at  the 
great  wars  of  the  French  Revolution  against  the  European  allies. 

Desaix  had  an  extreme  honesty.  When  they  struck  the  enemies  for  a 
contribution  of  war,  he  took  nothing  for  him.  and  now  he  was  poor  himself. 
"  But,"  said  he,  "that  which  excuses  the  others  is  not  permitted  to  those 


36  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

who  command  the  soldiers."  So  was  he  admired  by  all  and  esteemed  by 
his  enemies.  In  Germany,  where  he  made  a  long  war,  the  German  peas- 
ants called  him  the  ''Good  General.^'  In- Orient,  in  the  war  of  Egypt, 
where  he  followed  Bonaparte,  the  Mussulmans  who  inhabited  the  country 
had  surnamed  him  the  "Just  Sultan,"  that  is  to  say,  the  "Just  Chief." 

5.  Caesar  first,  on  the  account  of  the  great  number  of  men,  and  on  ac- 
count of  their  eminent  reputation  for  valor,  decided  to  put  off  the  battle ; 
regularly,  nevertheless,  it  was  proved  what  their  real  eminence  in  valor 
was  and  what  our  men  dared. 

The  place  in  front  of  the  camp  was  suitable  and  fit  by  character  to  draw 
up  the  line  of  battle.  But  this  hill,  where  the  camp  was  placed,  was 
stretched  out  very  little  from  the  rising  plain,  facing  the  enemy  greatly  in 
a  lateral  way,  extending  over  as  much  space  as  the  line  of  battle  could 
occupy,  and  on  both  sides  of  the  flank  was  holding  the  sloping  part. 

Delivery.  —  A  speaker  may  have  planned  excellent  things 
to  say  and  yet  receive  very  little  attention  because  he  de- 
livers his  remarks  poorly.  Much  of  the  effect  of  spoken 
English  depends  upon  the  general  bearing  of  the  speaker, 
the  tones  of  his  voice,  and  his  manner  of  pronouncing 
and  enunciating  his  words.  If  the  speaker  is  to  hold  the 
attention  and  the  interest  of  his  listeners,  first  of  all  he 
must  give  himself  to  his  listeners ;  i.e.,  he  must  make  them 
feel  that  he  wants  to  talk  to  them,  that  he  has  something  to 
say  that  he  knows  will  interest  them.  Next,  he  must  be 
careful  as  to  his  position.  If  standing,  he  must  stand  firm, 
with  his  weight  thrown  forward  toward  his  hearers,  and  with 
his  body  at  ease  under  full  control.  If  sitting,  he  must  sit 
up  without  lolling,  throw  his  weight  forward,  be  ready  to  rise, 
if  necessary,  at  a  moment's  notice.  Whether  giving  a  formal 
or  an  informal  speech,  he  should  look  straight  at  his  hearers 
and  talk  to  them.  He  must  modulate  his  voice  to  suit  the 
subject,  the  audience,  and  the  size  of  the  room  ;  but,  whatever 
he  does,  he  must  use  voice  enough  to  make  himself  heard. 
He  must  be  careful  to  throw  his  voice  ///  and  over  to  the 
farthest  part  of  the  room,  for  only  in  this  way  can  he  be  sure 


ORAL   COMPOSITION  37 

of  being  heard  everywhere  in  the  room.  He  must  remember 
that  it  is  often  not  volume  of  tone,  but  management  of  tone, 
that  will  make  him  understood.  Screaming  is  often  deafen- 
ing rather  than  clear.  Therefore,  he  must  not  only  pro- 
nounce words  correctly,  but  he  must  enunciate  them  with 
such  care  that  every  sound  in  them  can  be  heard  by  his 
farthest  hearer.  He  must  speak  clearly  all  final  consonants, 
taking  especial  pains  with  k,  ks,  t,  st,  sts,  g,  ing,  gth,  and  t/is. 
He  must  give  to  vowels  their  correct  sounds,  taking  care  to 
open  his  mouth  to  let  his  voice  come  out.  A  speaker  should 
not  hold  his  jaws  stiff  and  try  to  enunciate  without  moving 
them.  That  is  a  feat  which  no  one  can  accomplish.  By  ob- 
serving such  simple  rules  of  elocution  as  these,  any  person 
may  present  effectively  what  he  has  to  say. 

SUMMARY 

Any  one  who  is  ever  to  become  an  easy,  accurate,  interesting  talker 
must  keep  himself  constantly  in  training  in  three  ways:  first,  he  must 
choose  and  mass  his  ideas  so  as  to  bring  out  a  point  ;  second,  he  must 
use  clear,  grammatical  language ;  third,  as  he  speaks,  he  must  hold  him- 
self well,  think  what  he  means  to  say,  and  enunciate  every  word  clearly. 


CHAPTER   III 
DESCRIPTION 

Description  is  the  kind  of  speech  or  of  writing  that  aims 
to  give  an  exact  impression  of  a  thing  that  the  speaker  or  the 
writer  has  either  perceived  or  imagined. 

Whatever  may  be  seen,  heard,  smelled,  felt,  or  tasted,  i.e., 
whatever  may  be  perceived  through  the  senses,  is  material 
for  description.  A  description  must  take  one  of  two  forms 
according  to  its  purpose:  it  must  be  either  (i)  artistic  de- 
scription, or  (2)  scientific,  or  enumerative,  description. 

Artistic  Description.  —  Artistic  description  is  description 
which  aims  to  arouse  in  the  listener  or  the  reader  the  same 
feeling  that  the  object  described  would  arouse.  Most  artistic 
descriptions  are  word  pictures  of  landscapes,  of  settlements, 
of  buildings  or  parts  of  buildings,  or  of  people. 

Selection  and  Characterization  of  Details.  —  Read  the  fol- 
lowing description,  forming  the  picture  as  you  read  : 

Immediately  below  him  the  hillside  fell  away,  clean  and  cleared,  for 
fifteen  hundred  feet,  where  a  little  village  of  stone-walled  houses,  with 
roofs  of  beaten  earth,  clung  to  the  steep  tilt.  All  around  it  the  tiny  ter- 
raced fields  lay  out  like  aprons  of  patchwork  on  the  knees  of  the  mountain, 
and  cows  no  bigger  than  beetles  grazed  between  the  smooth  stone  circles 
of  the  threshing  floors.  Looking  across  the  valley,  the  eye  was  deceived 
by  the  size  of  things  and  could  not  at  first  realize  that  what  seemed  to  be 
low  scrub  on  the  opposite  mountain  flank,  was  in  truth  a  forest  of  hundred- 
toot  pines.  Purun  Bliagat  saw  an  eagle  swoop  across  the  gigantic  hollow, 
but  the  great  bird  dwindled  to  a  dot  ere  it  was  halfway  over.  A  few 
bands  of  scattered  clouds  strung  up  and  down  the  valley,  catching  on  a 
shoulder  of  the  hills  or  rising  up  and  dying  out  when  they  were  level  with 
the  head  of  the  pass.  —  The  Miracle  of  Purun  lihagat,  Kipling. 

38 


DESCRIPTION 


39 


The  selection  gives  a  view  in  a  high  mountainous  coun- 
try by  picturing  the  details  prominent  in  the  view  in  their 
right  relation  to  one  another  and  in  the  order  in  which  they 
were  noticed  by  the  observer.  Each  of  these  main  details, 
i.e.,  the  hillside,  a  village  with  its  surrounding  fields,  the 
valley,  an  eagle,  and  bands  of  scattered  clouds,  is  brought 
out  by  those  of  its  characteristics  which  catch  the  attention 
of  the  observer.  For  instance,  the  little  village  is  pictured 
by  means  of  its  "  stone-walled  houses  with  roofs  of  beaten 
earth  "  ;  the  fields  are  pictured  as  **  aprons  of  patchwork," 
and  the  threshing  floors  as  **  smooth  stone  circles."  As  each 
new  detail  is  given,  its  position  is  carefully  suggested  :  the 
little  village  ''clung  to  the  steep  tilt";  "the  tiny  terraced 
fields  lay  out  all  rou7id  the  village  "  ;  the  eagle  "  swooped 
across  the  valley."  The  details  come  into  view  from  near  to 
far,  the  order  in  which  they  are  naturally  noticed  by  any 
observer  looking  at  the  prospect  from  the  point  of  view  indi- 
cated by  the  words,  "  Immediately  below  him  the  hillside  fell 
away,  clean  and  cleared,  for  fifteen  hundred  feet,"  i.e.,  from  a 
spot  on  the  hillside  high  above  the  view. 

The  Main  Impression.  —  Every  detail  in  the  description 
helps  to  bring  out  the  main  impression  given  by  the  view  — 
a  sense  of  immense  distance.  From  a  point  of  view  fifteen 
hundred  feet  above  a  settlement  only  such  details  can  be 
seen  as  are  in  some  way  conspicuous  at  a  distance.  The 
only  details  of  the  village  and  its  surroundings  which  are 
given  are  the  stone  walls  and  the  dirt  roofs  of  the  houses, 
the  varied  color  of  the  fields,  the  moving  cows,  the  shape 
and  the  material  of  the  threshing  floors.  From  a  point 
of  view  far  distant  from  the  thing  seen,  only  enormous 
masses  or  enormous  areas  are  noticeable.  The  only  detail 
noticeable  across  the  wide  valley  is  a  forest  of  hundred-foot 
pines.     An  object  moving  directly  away  from  a  point  of  view 


40  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

gradually  diminishes  in  size  until  it  becomes  lost  in  the  dis- 
tance. In  this  picture,  the  eagle,  swooping  across  the  valley, 
dwindles  to  a  dot  before  it  is  halfway  over. 

Summary. — This  word  picture  has  been  made  by  using 
the  details  which  give  the  main  impression  of  the  view,  by 
picturing  them  by  means  of  their  most  prominent  character- 
istics, by  placing  them  in  their  right  relation  to  one  another, 
and  by  giving  them  in  the  order  in  w^hich  they  naturally 
come  into  sight  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  observer. 

EXERCISE  I 

Picture  the  following  scenes  : 


The  road  lay  through  the  bleak  countryside  of  the  salt  marshes  which 
stretched  themselves  away  toward  the  sea,  dotted  here  and  there  with  hay- 
cocks, and  crossed  in  wavering  lines  by  the  inlets  and  ditches,  filled  now 
with  grayish  ice,  that  was  sinking  and  cracking  as  the  tide  ran  out.  The 
marsh  grass  was  wind-swept  and  beaten  until  it  looked  as  soft  and  brown 
as  fur ;  the  wind  had  free  course  over  it,  and  it  looked  like  a  deserted  bit 
of  the  world.  — Deephaven^  Jewett. 

B 

The  school  was  a  long,  cold-looking  house,  one  story  high,  with  a  few 
straggling  out-buildings  behind  and  a  barn  and  stable  adjoining. 

—  Nicholas  Nkkleby,  Dickens. 

C 

Genestas  seated  himself  in  a  corner  by  the  fireless  hearth.  A  sublime 
symbol  met  his  eyes  on  the  high  mantel-shelf  above  him  —  a  colored 
plaster  cast  of  the  Virgin  with  the  Child  Jesus  in  her  arms.  Bare  earth 
made  the  flooring  of  the  cottage.  It  had  been  beaten  level  in  the  first  in- 
stance, but  in  course  of  time  it  had  grown  rough  and  uneven,  so  that 
though  it  was  clean,  its  ruggedness  was  not  unlike  that  of  the  magnified 
rind  of  an  orange.  A  sabot  filled  with  salt,  a  frying  pan,  and  a  large 
kettle  hung  inside  the  chimney.     The  farther  end  of  the  room  was  com- 


DESCRIPTION 


41 


pletely  filled  by  a  four-post  bedstead,  with  a  scalloped  valance  for  decora- 
tion. The  walls  were  black  ;  there  was  an  opening  to  admit  the  light 
above  the  worm-eaten  door;  and  here  and  there  were  a  few  stools  con- 
sisting of  rough  blocks  of  beech  wood,  each  set  upon  three  wooden  legs. 
A  hutch  for  bread,  a  large  wooden  dipper,  a  bucket  and  some  earthen  milk- 
pans,  a  spinning  wheel  on  the  top  of  the  bread-hutch,  and  a  few  wicker 
mats  for  draining  cheeses  formed  the  remaining  ornaments  and  household 
furniture  of  the  wretched  dwelling. 

—  The  Countryside  and  the  Man,  Balzac. 

D 

Ere  twilight  I  examined  John's  room.  It  was  a  good  deal  changed; 
the  furniture  was  improved ;  a  score  of  ingenious  little  contrivances  made 
the  tiny  attic  into  a  cozy  bed-chamber.  One  corner  was  full  of  shelves 
laden  with  books,  chiefly  of  a  scientific  and  practical  nature.  .  .  .  He 
evidently  still  practiced  his  old  mechanical  arts.  There  was  lying  in  the 
window  a  telescope — the  cylinder  made  of  pasteboard  —  into  which  the 
lenses  were  ingeniously  fitted.  A  rough  telescope  stand  of  common  deal 
stood  on  the  ledge  of  the  roof,  from  which  the  field  of  view  must  have  been 
satisfactory  enough  to  the  young  astronomer.  Other  fragments  of  skillful 
handiwork,  chiefly  meant  for  machinery  on  a  Lilliputian  scale,  were  strewn 
about  the  floor ;  and  on  a  chair,  just  as  he  had  left  it  that  morning,  stood  a 
loom,  very  small  in  size,  but  perfect  in  its  neat  workmanship,  with  a  few 
threads  already  woven,  making  some  fabric  not  so  very  unlike  cloth. 

— John  Halifax^  Gentleman^  Mulock. 


It  was  a  bitter  cold  morning.  The  snow,  which  had  been  falling 
heavily  all  night,  lay  in  great  drifts  on  the  eaves  of  the  houses  and  almost 
covered  the  fences,  while  the  cutting  north  wind  brought  a  sort  of  hail 
with  it  that  made  one  shiver.  Everybody  in  the  little  village  of  Wynn 
seemed  cautious  of  \enturing  forth  ;  the  very  houses  looked  sleepy  and 
cold  in  the  semi-darkness  of  half-past  seven  o'clock  on  a  December 
morning.  The  low  wooden  tavern,  with  its  yellow  doors  and  green  blinds, 
seemed  to  be  the  only  place  where  any  life  was  stirring,  and  even  that  was 
confined  to  a  small  group  of  three  people,  btanding  huddled  together  in  a 
corner  of  the  piazza  which  was  most  sheltered  from  the  wind  and  hail. 

—  Marjorie''s  Quests  J.  T.  GouLD. 


42  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

In  each  description  : 

1.  State  the  point  of  view  of  the  observer. 

2.  Name  the  chief  impression  given  by  the  scene. 

3.  Name  the  details  that  help  to  give  this  impression  and  tell  the 

characteristics  by  which  they  are  pictured. 

4.  Tell  how  the  position  of  each  detail  is  indicated. 

THEME   I 

1.  Describe  some  landscape  which  you  know  as  it  looks  after  a  snow- 
storm. 

2.  Describe  the  same  landscape  on  a  summer  day. 

3.  Describe  a  room  which  gives  a  pleasant  impression  to  a  chance 
observer. 

4.  Describe  a  room  which  gives  an  unpleasant  impression  to  a  chance 
observer. 

In  each  description  : 

a.  How  have  you  indicated  your  point  of  view? 

b.  What  chief  impression  have  you  tried  to  suggest  ? 

c.  How  do  the  details  you  have  used  suggest  this  chief  impression? 
d.    How  have  you  indicated  the  position  of  the  details  ? 

The  Right  Development  of  Details.  —  It  is  very  important 
that  whatever  is  put  into  an  artistic  description  shall  suggest 
the  chief  impression  which  the  object  described  makes  upon 
an  observer.  Sometimes  a  detail  in  itself  suggests  the 
chief  impression,  as  flame  suggests  fire,  icicle ,  winter  cold, 
marshy  low,  damp  ground  ;  but,  more  often,  a  detail  suggests 
a  chief  impression,  not  in  itself,  but  through  some  character- 
istics which  it  has  under  particular  circumstances.  When 
this  is  the  case,  it  is  important  that  the  details  be  depicted 
by  the  characteristics  which  together  produce  the  chief  im- 
pression. 

Picture  the  following  scene  : 

It  was  high  noon,  and  the  rays  of  the  sun,  that  hung  poised  directly 
overhead  in  an  intolerable  white  glory,  fell  straight  as  plummets  upon  the 
roofs  and  streets  of  Guadalajara.     The  adobe  walls  and  sparse  brick  side- 


DESCRIPTION  43 

walks  of  the  drowsing  town  radiated  the  heat  in  an  oily,  quivering  shimmer. 
The  leaves  of  the  eucalyptus  trees  around  the  Plaza  drooped  motionless, 
limp,  and  relaxed  under  the  scorching,  searching  blaze.  The  shadows  of 
these  trees  had  shrunk  t6  their  smallest  circumference,  contracting  close 
about  the  trunks.  The  shade  had  dwindled  to  the  breadth  of  a  mere  line. 
The  sun  was  everywhere.  The  heat  exhaling  from  brick  and  plaster  and 
metal  met  the  heat  that  steadily  descended  blanketwise  and  smothering 
from  the  pale,  scorched  sky.  Only  the  lizards — they  lived  in  chinks  of 
the  crumbling  adobe  and  in  interstices  of  the  sidewalk  —  remained  without, 
motionless,  as  if  stuffed,  their  eyes  closed  to  mere  slits,  basking,  stupefied 
with  heat.  At  long  intervals  the  prolonged  drone  of  an  insect  developed 
out  of  the  silence,  vibrated  a  moment  in  a  soothing,  somnolent,  long  note, 
then  trailed  slowly  into  the  quiet  again.  Somewhere  in  the  interior  of  one 
of  the  adobe  houses  a  guitar  snored  and  hummed  sleepily.  On  the  roof 
of  the  hotel  a  group  of  pigeons  cooed  incessantly  with  subdued,  liquid 
murmurs,  very  plaintive ;  a  cat,  perfectly  white,  with  a  pink  nose  and  thin, 
pink  lips,  dozed  complacently  on  a  fence  rail,  full  in  the  sun.  In  a  corner 
of  the  Plaza  three  hens  wallowed  in  the  baking  hot  dust,  their  wings 
fluttering,  clucking  comfortably. 

And  this  was  all.  A  Sunday  repose  pervaded  the  whole  moribund 
town,  peaceful,  profound.  A  certain  pleasing  numbness,  a  sense  of  grate- 
ful enervation  exhaled  from  the  scorching  plaster.  There  was  no  move- 
ment, no  sound  of  human  business.  The  faint  hum  of  the  insect,  the 
intermittent  murmur  of  the  guitar,  the  mellow  complainings  of  the  pigeons, 
the  prolonged  purr  of  the  white  cat,  the  contented  cluckmg  of  the  hens  — 
all  these  noises  mingled  together  to  form  a  faint,  drowsy  bourdon,  pro- 
longed, stupefying,  suggestive  of  an  infinite  quiet,  of  a  calm,  complacent 
life,  centuries  old,  lapsing  gradually  to  its  end  under  the  gorgeous  loneli- 
ness of  a  cloudless,  pale  blue  sky  and  the  steady  fire  of  an  interminable  sun. 

—  The  Octopus^  Norris. 

The  chief  impression  given  by  this  scene  is  the  intensity 
of  heat  at  high  noon  in  Guadalajara.  Noon  in  Guadalajara 
is  suggested  by  picturing  details  which  are  true  only  of  a 
tropical  noontime:  viz.,  (i)  sun-rays  poised  directly  overhead, 
intolerably  white,  faUing  straight  as  plummets;  (2)  shadows, 
no  broader  than  a  line,  contracted  close  to  the  tree  trunks 
that  cast  them;  (3)  the  sunlight  extending  and  penetrating 


44  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

everywhere.  The  Jicat  of  this  high  noon  is  vividly  suggested, 
first,  by  picturing  things  and  animals  as  they  look  or  sound 
when  affected  by  great  heat ;  second,  by  showing  the  effect 
of  the  heated  town  on  the  spirit  of  the  observer.  The  adobe 
walls  and  brick  sidewalks  quiver  and  shimmer  with  heat ;  heat 
radiates  from  brick  and  plaster  and  metal  and  is  covered  by  a 
smothering  blanket  of  heat  from  above  ;  the  eucalyptus  leaves 
droop,  limp  and  motionless  with  heat ;  the  lizards  lie  motion- 
less as  if  stuffed,  stupefied  by  heat ;  the  note  of  the  insect  is 
the  long,  rasping  drone  that  vibrates  through  the  silence  of 
heat;  a  guitar  snores  and  hums  with  the  sleepiness  that  heat 
brings ;  the  cooing  of  the  pigeons  is  the  continuous,  plaintive 
cooing  of  heat ;  the  dozing  cat  basks  in  the  heat ;  three  hens 
take  their  comfort  wallowing  in  the  heated  dust. 

The  effect  of  the  town  upon  the  spirit  of  the  observer  is 
that  of  "  Sunday  repose,  peaceful,  profound."  This  idea  of 
repose  is  developed  by  giving  that  element  of  repose  con- 
tributed by  each  detail  of  the  picture.  The  scorching  plaster 
"exhaled  a  certain  pleasing  numbness,  a  sense  of  grateful 
enervation  "  ;  the  listlessness  of  living  things  resulted  in  "  no 
movement,  no  sound  of  human  business  "  ;  the  various  sounds 
produced  by  the  insect,  the  guitar,  the  pigeons,  the  cat,  the 
hens  "mingled  together  to  form  a  faint,  drowsy  bourdon,  pro- 
longed, stupefying,  suggestive  of  an  infinite  quiet,  of  a  calm, 
complacent  life,  centuries  old,  lapsing  gradually  to  its  end 
under  the  gorgeous  loneliness  of  a  cloudless,  pale  blue  sky 
and  the  steady  fire  of  an  interminable  sun." 

In  this  scene  the  details  which  depict  noontime  in  the 
tropics  are  in  themselves  suggestive  of  heat,  the  chief  im- 
pression given  by  the  scene.  The  details  of  the  town,  how- 
ever, adobe  walls,  brick  sidewalks,  plaster,  metal,  eucalyptus 
leaves,  the  note  of  an  insect,  a  guitar,  cooing  pigeons,  a  cat, 
three  hens,  do  not  of   themselves  suggest  heat.     They  sug- 


DESCRIPTION  45 

gest  it  in  this  view  wholly  because  of  the  characteristics  that 
they  have  under  these  conditions.  The  chief  impression  given 
by  a  view,  then,  may  be  produced  in  two  ways  :  first,  by  the 
details  in  themselves ;  and,  second,  by  characteristics  which 
the  details  have  under  the  special  conditions  which  produce 
the  chief  impression. 

It  happens  that  the  description  of  Guadalajara  is  also  an 
excellent  illustration  of  a  method  frequently  used  to  give 
vividness  to  description.  The  chief  impression,  heat,  is  viv- 
idly suggested  by  depicting  the  effects  of  which  it  is  the 
cause.  Objects,  both  animate  and  inanimate,  are  portrayed 
by  means  of  characteristics  which  are  the  result  of  great  heat. 
This  method  of  gaining  vividness  in  description  is  known  as 
tJic  7netJiod  of  suggesting  cause  by  portraying  effect. 


EXERCISE   n 


Picture  the  following  scenes 


By  day  it  was  still  high  summer  in  the  woods,  with  slumbrous  heat  at 
noon,  and  the  murmur  of  insects  under  the  thick  foliage.  But  to  the  in- 
itiated sense  there  was  a  difterence.  A  tang  in  the  forest  scents  told  the 
nostrils  that  autumn  had  arrived.  A  crispness  in  the  feel  of  the  air,  elu- 
sive but  persistent,  hinted  of  approaching  frost.  The  still  warmth  was 
haunted,  every  now  and  then,  by  a  passing  ghost  of  chill.  Here  and  there 
the  pale  green  of  the  birches  was  thinly  webbed  with  gold.  Here  and 
there  a  maple  hung  out  amid  its  rich  verdure  a  branch  prematurely  turned, 
glowing  like  a  banner  of  aerial  rose.  Along  the  edges  of  the  little  wild 
meadows  which  bordered  the  loitering  brooks  the  first  thin  blooms  of  the 
asters  began  to  show,  like  a  veil  of  blown  smoke.  In  open  patches  on  the 
hillsides  the  goldenrod  burned  orange  and  the  fireweed  spread  its  washes 
of  violet-pink.  Somewhere  in  the  top  of  a  tall  poplar,  crowning  the  sum- 
mit of  a  glaring  white  bluff,  a  locust  twanged  incessently  its  strident  string. 
Mysteriously,  imperceptibly,  without  sound  and  without  warning,  the  change 
had  come.  —  TJie  House  in  the  Wate>\  Roberts. 


46  PRACTICAL    KNGLISIf    COMPOSITION 

B 

Not  a  breath  of  air  stirred  over  the  free  and  open  prairie ;  the  clouds 
were  like  light  piles  of  cotton  ;  and  where  the  blue  sky  was  visible,  it  wore 
a  hazy  and  languid  aspect.  The  sun  beat  down  upon  us  with  a  sultry, 
penetrating  heat  almost  insupportable,  and  as  our  party  crept  slowly  along 
over  the  interminable  level,  the  horses  hung  their  heads  as  they  waded  fet- 
lock deep  through  the  mud,  and  the  men  slouched  into  the  easiest  positions 
upon  the  saddle.  —  The  Oregon  Trails  Parkman. 


The  cold  wind  blew  from  the  plain ;  the  wood  was  dark,  but  there  was 
no  rustling  of  leaves  and  none  of  the  vague  and  fresh  gleams  of  summer. 
Large  branches  stood  out  frightfully,  and  shapeless,  stunted  bushes 
soughed  in  the  glades.  The  tall  grass  twined  under  the  breeze  like  eels 
and  the  brambles  writhed  like  long  arms  provided  with  claws  seeking  to 
clutch  their  prey.  A  few  withered  patches  of  fern,  impelled  by  the  breeze, 
passed  rapidly  and  seemed  to  be  flying  before  something  that  was  coming 
up.  —  Les  Miserables^  Hugo. 

D 

« 

The  day  was  not  yet  fled,  but  the  light  abroad  —  a  sullen  grayness, 
splashed  with  angry  red  in  the  west,  where  the  mist  was  thinning  —  was 
fading  fast  and  fearfully.  And  there  was  an  ominous  stirring  of  wind  in 
the  east  ;  at  intervals  storm  puffs  came  swirling  over  the  hills  from  the 
sea  ;  and  they  ran  off  inland  like  mad,  leaving  the  air  of  a  sudden  once 
more  stagnant.  Fresh  and  cool  they  were  —  grateful  enough,  indeed, 
blowing  through  the  thick,  dead  dusk  —  but  sure  warning,  too,  of  great 
gusts  to  come.  — Doctor  Luke  of  the  Labrador,  Duncan. 

In  each  of  the  descriptions  : 

1.  State  the  point  of  view. 

2.  Name  the  chief  impression  made  by  the  scene. 

3.  Name  the  details  which  in  themselves  suggest  the  chief  impres- 

sion. 

4.  Name  details  which  do  not  in  themselves  suggest  the  chief  impres- 

sion, and  show  by  what  characteristics  they  do  suggest,  the 
chief  impression. 

5.  Name  the  details  which  depict  an  effect  of  the  chief  impression. 


DESCRIPTION  '  47 

EXERCISE  III 

Criticize  the  following  students'  themes  for  choice  and  development  of 
details : 

The  Mountain  Road  on  Mt.  Calm  in  Summer 

A  person  who  travels  along  the  mountain  road  of  Mt.  Calm  can  see  far 
ahead  an  irregular  country  road  with  a  stretch  of  scraggly  grass  in  the 
center.  On  each  side  of  this  road  are  large,  outspreading  elm  trees  which 
shade  the  young  white  birches  and  maples.  Somewhat  back  of  these 
birches  and  maples  lies  an  old  broken-down  stone  wall,  while  far  ahead  in 
the  distance  appears  the  faint  outline  of  Ragged  Mountain. 

The  Neponset  Valley 

• 

From  the  summit  of  Milton  Hill,  the  traveler,  looking  east,  views  the 
Neponset  River  winding  through  the  marsh  which  the  inflowing  tide  often 
covers,  making  it  look  like  a  small  lake.  On  each  side  of  the  valley  snug- 
gle small  towns  and  villages,  separated  by  patches  of  forest.  In  the  dis- 
tance the  waters  of  the  harbor  and  of  Dorchester  Bay  gleam  blue  in  the 
sunlight,  while  in  and  out  among  the  islands  steamboats  and  liners  are 
continually  plying  their  way.  To  the  southeast  lie  the  green  hills  of  Wol- 
laston,  where  small  figures  are  playing  golf.  In  the  river  motor  boats  and 
sailboats  dot  the  water.     This  view  can  scarcely  be  surpassed. 

An  Unexpected  Picture 

I  was  sitting  at  my  desk,  trying  hard  to  recall  some  interesting  scene, 
when,  chancing  to  glance  out  of  the  western  window,  I  saw  to  my  surprise 
and  delight  a  very  pretty  picture.  The  sun  had  just  sunk  below  the 
horizon,  leaving  traces  of  its  brightness  on  the  western  sky.  Contrasting 
with  this  bright  setting,  a  cluster  of  dark  pine  trees  rose  in  the  distance, 
among  which  there  gleamed,  here  and  there,  the  rippling  water  of  a  little 
pond.  Numerous  patches  of  exceedingly  bright  red  and  yellow,  which 
seemed  to  be  spreading  rapidly  among  the  trees  and  about  the  pond. 
added  the  final  touches  to  this  picture. 

THEME   II 

I.  Depict  a  stormy  day  by  portraying  people  and  things  as  they  appear 
in  the  storm. 


48  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH    COMPOSITION 

2.  Depict  a  sunny  spring  day. 

3.  Depict  a  scene  of  enjoyment  in  a  room  or  out  of  doors. 

4.  Depict  a  room  which  gives  evidence  of  poverty  and  shiftlessness. 

5.  Depict  a  room  which  gives  evidence  of  poverty  and  self-respect. 

In  each  description  : 

a.  What  details  have  you  used  that  in  themselves  suggest  the  chief 

impression  given  by  the  scene  ? 

b.  What  characteristics  of  details  have  you  used  to  suggest  the  chief 

impression  .-* 

c.  What  details  have  you  depicted  that  are  the  effect  of  the  chief 

impression  ? 

The  Placing  of  Details.  —  If  an  artistic  description  is  to 
give  a  clear  picture,  the  position  of  each  detail  must  be  defi- 
nitely suggested.  Notice  the  method  of  placing  details  in 
the  following  description : 

The  road  over  which  Presley  was  traveling  ran  almost  diametrically 
straight.  In  front  of  /ujh,  but  at  a  great  distance,  he  could  make  out  the 
giant  live  oak  and  the  red  roof  of  Hooven^s  barn  that  stood  ftear  it. 

All  aboid  him  the  country  was  flat.  /;/  all  directio7is  he  could  see  for 
tniles.  The  harvest  was  just  over.  Nothing  but  stubble  remained  on  the 
ground.  With  one  exception  of  the  live  oak  by  Hoovois  place  there  was 
nothing  green  in  sight.  The  wheat  stubble  was  of  a  dirty  yellow  ;  the 
ground,  parched,  cracked,  and  dry,  of  a  cheerless  brown.  By  the  roadside 
the  dust  lay  thick  and  gray,  and,  on  either  hand,  stretching  on  toward  the 
horizon,  losing  itself  m  a  mere  smudge  in  the  distance,  ran  the  illimitable 
parallels  of  the  wire  fence.  And  that  was  all  ;  that  and  the  burnt  out  blue 
of  the  sky  and  the  steady  shimmer  of  the  heat.  —  The  Octopus,  NORRIS. 

The  details  of  this  picture  are  placed  both  in  relation  to  the 
observer  and  in  relation  to  one  another. 

EXERCISE   IV 

Select  the  words  that  place  the  details  in  the  following  description  -. 

The  morning  was  a  dazzle  of  sunshine.  It  touched  the  scattered  houses 
of  the  little  village  to  brilliant  whiteness,  brought  out  the  rainbow  hues  of 
the  gayly  blooming  flower  gardens  before  each  cottage  door,  and  trans- 


DESCRIPTION  49 

formed  the  green  slope  stretching  down  to  the  sea  into  mossy  velvet.  The 
bay  itself  lay  still  and  burnished  with  changing  colors.  Within  the 
harbor  the  water  took  on  the  deep  blue  of  the  .sky,  with  here  and  there  a 
drift  of  fleecy  white  where  some  passing  cloud  reflected  itself.  In  the 
shadowy  angle  between  Fox  and  Crow  Islands  the  sea  was  wine  dark, 
as  Homer  saw  it  long  ago  ;  farther  on,  Burnt  Island  rose  out  of  a  tide  of 
drifting  silver,  with  shining  white  splashes  here  and  there  where  the  foam 
broke  over  the  rocks  ;  in  the  far  outer  harbor  there  was  one  dazzling  spot 
where  the  sun  lay  full  upon  the  water  and  changed  it  into  liquid,  pellucid 
gold.  In  the  very  heart  of  the  glory,  a  white  yacht,  with  sails  curved  into 
snowy  petals  by  the  distant  breeze,  blossomed  against  the  sky  like  Dante's 
white  rose  of  paradise.  —  Lias's  Wife,  Dunn. 

Criticize  the  following  students'  themes  for  the  placing  of  details  : 

Sunrise 

A  mist  hung  over  the  valley  and  the  hills  beyond.  The  foliage,  verdant 
green,  was  sparkling  with  drops  of  dew.  The  sun  was  just  mounting  over 
the  hills  beyond.  It  rose  slowly,  grandly,  dispelling  the  mist,  and  shedding 
a  crimson  light  over  everything.  A  quail  scuttled  across  the  open,  followed 
by  eight  downy  bits  of  fluffy  wool.  Innumerable  birds  flew  about,  streaks 
of  gold,  crimson,  blue,  and  garnet.  Nature  in  her  fairy  palace  was  sending 
forth  glad  harbingers  of  summer,  that  beautiful  season  of  pleasure. 

Home  in  Summer 

A  traveler  passing  the  Aloha  Manor  in  the  early  summer  would  probably 
see  a  sight  worth  looking  at  twice.  A  httle  back  from  the  road  lies  a  low, 
white  farmhouse  well  shaded  by  three  huge  pine  trees.  The  large  stone 
wall  around  the  drive  is  covered  with  trailing  nasturtiums  of  all  colors,  reds, 
yellows,  and  all  shades  of  orange. 

On  the  hillside  the  cattle  are  feeding ;  in  the  barnyard  the  pigs  are 
basking  in  the  sun ;  the  hens  are  proudly  strutting  around  with  their 
broods  of  young  chickens.  Children  are  playing  in  a  large  swing  hung 
from  one  of  the  pine  trees. 

If  one  were  passing  at  supper  time,  he  would  see  a  large  family  gathered 
on  the  wide  piazza  for  supper.  Boys  and  girls  are  chatting  and  laughing 
to  the  accompaniment  of  the  brook  near  by  where  the  young  children  of  the 
neighborhood  are  in  wading. 


50  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

Down  to  the  river  stretches  the  beautiful  rolling  valley,  now  all  green, 
with  here  and  there  a  woodchuck's  hole  with  its  owner  sitting  beside  it 
taking  a  sun  bath.  The  lambs  and  colts  and  calves  are  playing  in  the 
field  as  if  they  were  trying  to  express  what  some  one  else  has  said  so 
beautifully  in  the  words,  "What  is  so  rare  as  a  day  in  June  ?" 

THEME  III 

A.  Write  a  description  on  each  of  the  following  subjects  : 

1.  An  Old-Fashiohed  Homestead. 

2.  Day-break  at  Camp. 

3.  A  Mountain  View. 

4.  A  Country  Road. 

5.  The  Market-Place  on  Market  Day. 

6.  The  Toy-Shop  Window. 

7.  The  Picnic  Grounds. 

8.  The  Beach  at  the  Height  of  the  Season. 

In  each  description  : 

a.  What  words  indicate  the  relation  of  details  to  one  another  ? 

b.  What  words  indicate  the  position  of  details  with  reference  to  the 

observer  ? 

B.  In  each  theme,  be  sure  that  the  right  mark  of  punctuation  comes  at 
the  end  of  each  sentence,  that  each  sentence  is  grammatical,  and  that  the 
spelling  is  correct. 

Choice  of  Words.  —  If  an  artistic  description  is  to  give  a  true 
picture,  the  details  and  their  characteristics  must  be  expressed 
in  words  which  suggest  the  chief  impression  accurately  and 
vividly. 

Note  the  characteristics  brought  out  by  the  italicized  words 
in  the  following  description  : 

The  tent  was  cosily  pitched  beneath  a  tree  where  the  gurgle  of  the 
stream  was  constantly  /;/  ear.  Overhead  the  broad  leaves  hung  motionless 
on  their  stems ;  the  delicate  reed-stalks  off  in  the  pearly  haze  stood  up 
arrow-straight ;  occasionally  a  hovie-returning  bee  shot  humming  athivart 
the  shade,  and  a  partridge,  creeping  from  the  sedge  drank,  whistled  to  his 
mate  and  ran  away.  — Ben  Hur,  Wallace. 


DESCRIPTION 


51 


Now  note  the  loss  of  accuracy  and  vividness  of  suggestion 
when  these  words  are  replaced  by  others  not  so  definite  : 

The  tent  was  well  placed  beneath  a  tree  where  the  sound  of  the  stream 
was  constantly  heard.  Overhead  the  large  leaves  were  still ;  the  slender 
reeds  off  in  the  mist  stood  up  straight ;  occasionally  a  bee  ^ew  dy,  and  a 
partridge,  coming  out  from  the  grass,  drank,  called  to  his  mate,  and  ran 
away. 

Accuracy  and  vividness  of  suggestion  result:  (i)  from 
specific  rather  than  from  general  words ;  (2)  from  words  that 
depict  rather  than  from  words  that  state  opinion. 

THEME  IV 

Describe  each  of  the  following  things  :  an  abandoned  farm,  the  haunted 
house,  an  amusement  park,  a  sandy  beach,  a  work-room,  a  river  at  low 
tide,  a  blacksmith's  shop,  the  trout  stream,  the  morass. 

a.  What  words  in  each  theme  are  so  specific  as  to  suggest  details 

or  their  characteristics  accurately  and  vividly? 

b.  Where  in  each  theme  have  you  expressed  opinions  of  the  scene 

instead  of  picturing  the  scene  ? 

The  Relation  of  Details  to  the  Point  of  View.  —  In  artistic 
description,  the  choice  of  details  and  of  characteristics  of 
details  depends  on  what  can  actually  be  seen  from  the  point 
of  view  indicated.     Picture  the  following  scene  : 

Far  up  the  lengthened  lake  were  spied 
Four  darkening  specks  upon  the  tide. 
That,  slow  enlarging  on  the  view, 
Four  manned  and  masted  barges  grew, 
And,  bearing  downwards  from  Glengyle, 
Steered  full  upon  the  lonely  isle ;  •  .   . 
Nearer  and  nearer  as  they  bear. 
Spears,  pikes,  and  axes  flash  in  air. 
Now  might  you  see  the  tartans  brave. 
And  plaids  and  plumage  dance  and  wave : 
Now  all  the  bonnets  sink  and  rise. 


52  PR.\CTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

As  his  tough  oar  the  rower  plies  ; 
See,  flashing  at  each  sturdy  stroke, 
The  wave  ascending  into  smolce ; 
See  the  proud  pipers  on  the  bow. 
And  mark  the  gaudy  streamers  flow 
From  their  loud  chanters  down,  and  sweep 
The  furrowed  bosom  of  the  deep. 

—  Lady  of  the  Lake,  ScoTT. 

The  gradual  approach  of  the  boats  from  a  distance  is  sug- 
gested by  depicting  them  at  six  different  stages  of  their  ap- 
proach. When  first  seen,  the  boats  are  so  remote  as  to  appear 
mere  "darkening  specks  upon  the  tide."  At  the  second 
stage,  they  have  become  "four  manned  and  masted  barges." 
At  the  third,  the  weapons  are  seen  flashing  in  the  sunlight. 
At  the  fourth,  the  plaid  of  the  tartans  becomes  visible.  At 
the  fifth,  the  fine  spray,  like  smoke,  thrown  up  in  rowing,  is 
discernible,  while  at  the  sixth,  individuals  can  be  recognized 
and  such  minute  details  as  the  ribbons  on  the  bagpipes  can 
be  seen.  Although  every  one  of  the  details  in  this  description 
was  just  as  much  a  part  of  the  boats  when  they  were  far 
distant  as  it  was  when  they  were  near  at  hand,  no  detail  is 
pictured  until  the  boats  are  near  enough  to  the  observer  for 
him  to  see  the  detail. 

THEME   V 

Describe  the  approach  from  a  distance  of  a  wagon,  a  motorcar,  a  steam- 
boat, or  a  locomotive. 

a.  By  what  additional  details  or  characteristics  have  you  Indicated 

the  various  stages  of  the  progress  toward  the  observer  of  the 
object  described  ? 

b.  Have  you  used  any  detail  which  could  not  be  seen  by  the  obser\'er 

at  the  given  stage  of  progress  ? 

EXERCISE  V 

Criticize  the  following  composition  for  choice  of  details  and  of  chai-ac- 
teristics  of  details  as  governed  by  point  of  view  : 


DESCRIPTION  55 

A  Description  in  the  Winter  Time 

As  I  was  skating  around  the  pond,  I  could  see  the  snow-capped  hills  in 
the  distance  with  small  pine  trees  about  three  feet  from  the  ground.  There 
was  a  long  wooden  shaft  used  for  a  toboggan  slide  just  peeking  above  the 
snow.  At  the  top  of  this  hill  stood  a  large  rock  bearing  a  plate  on  which 
was  engraved  the  name  of  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson. 

The  Mental  Point  of  View.  —  What  a  person  sees  depends 
not  only  upon  what  is  visible  from  tlie  spot  where  he  is,  i.e.^ 
his  physical  point  of  view,  but  also  upon  his  state  of  mind, 
i.e.^  his  mental  point  of  view,  at  the  time  that  he  looks  at  the 
scene.  It  is  possible,  indeed,  for  a  person  to  be  so  influenced 
by  his  own  mental  point  of  view  as  to  get  from  objects  im- 
pressions that  are  actually  incorrect.  For  example,  in  the 
following  description,  Torfrida  is  so  influenced  by  her  own 
feelings  as  to  form  false  conceptions  of  her  surroundings. 

Packed  uncomfortably  under  the  awning  on  the  poop,  Torfrida  looked 
out  from  beneath  it  upon  the  rolling  water-waste,  with  a  heart  full  of  gloomy 
forebodings  and  a  brain  whirling  with  wild  fancies.  The  wreathes  of  cloud 
were  gray  witches,  hurrying  on  with  the  ship  to  work  her  woe  ;  the  low  red 
storm-dawn  was  streaked  with  blood  ;  the  water  which  gurgled  all  night 
under  the  lee  was  alive  with  hoarse  voices  ;  and  again  and  again  she  started 
from  fitful  slumber  to  clasp  the  child  closer  to  her,  or  look  up  for  comfort 
to  the  sturdy  figure  of  her  husband,  as  he  stood,  like  a  tower  of  strength, 
steering  and  commanding,  the  long  night  through. 

—  Hereward  the  Wake,  Kingsley. 

She  sees  clouds,  but  sees  them  as  gray  witches.  She  sees 
the  red  of  the  storm-dawn,  but  sees  it  as  blood.  She  hears 
the  gurghng  of  the  water,  but  hears  it  as  hoarse  voices. 

The  chief  impression  made  by  a  scene,  then,  depends  partly 
upon  the  nature  of  the  details  and  of  the  characteristics  of 
these  details  visible  from  the  physical  point  of  view,  and 
partly  upon  the  state  of  mind,  i.e.,  the  mental  point  of  view, 
of  the  observer. 


/. 


54  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

Definite  Suggestion  of  Point  of  View.  —  The  point  of  view  in 
artistic  description  must  be  definitely  stated  or  clearly  implied. 
In  many  of  the  descriptions  studied  thus  far,  the  point  of 
view  has  been  definitely  stated.  In  the  following  descrip- 
tion the  point  of  view  from  which  the  scene  is  observed  is 
not  stated,  but  is  clearly  implied.  It  is  a  spot  which  com- 
mands a  view  of  Lily  and  of  the  landscape  which  she  sees. 
The  point  of  view  from  which  Lily  sees  the  landscape  is 
stated  in  the  words,  *'  Seating  herself  on  the  upper  step  of 
the  terrace,  Lily  leaned  her  head,"  etc.  The  details  of  the 
landscape,  as  seen  from  Lily's  point  of  view,  are  arranged 
from  near  to  far,  the  order  in  which  they  would  appear  to 
any  one  occupying  that  point  of  view. 

Seating  herself  on  the  upper  step  of  the  terrace,  Lily  leaned  her  head 
against  the  honeysuckles  wreathing  the  balustrade.  The  fragrance  of  the 
late  blossoms  seemed  an  emanation  of  the  tranquil  scene,  a  landscape 
tutored  to  the  last  degree  of  rural  elegance.  In  the  foreground  glowed  the 
warm  tints  of  the  gardens.  Beyond  the  lawn,  with  its  pyramidal  pale-gold 
maples  and  velvety  firs,  sloped  pastures  dotted  with  cattle ;  and  through  a 
long  glade  the  river  widened  like  a  lake  under  the  silver  light  of  September. 

—  The  House  of  Mirth,  Wharton. 

EXERCISE  VI 

Select  and  bring  to  class  two  descriptions  in  which  the  point  of  view  is 
definitely  stated  and  two  descriptions  in  which  the  point  of  view  is  clearly 
implied. 

Changing  Point  of  View.  —  In  each  of  the  descriptions 
studied  up  to  this  point,  the  physical  point  of  view  is  station- 
ary; ^^.,it  is  that  of  a  person  who  remains  in  one  place  with- 
out change  of  position.  In  actual  life,  the  physical  point  of 
view  is  often  a  constantly  changing  one,  as  when  an  observer 
is  moving  along  a  path  or  a  road.  A  constantly  changing,  or 
moving,  point  of  view  is  in  reality  a  more  or  less  rapid  sue- 


DESCRIPTION  55 

cession  of  stationary  points  of  view.  The  effect  of  a  chang- 
ing point  of  view  is  to  enable  an  observer  to  get  in  their 
proper  relation  as  parts  of  one  impression  a  number  of  differ- 
ent scenes  not  all  of  which  could  be  observed  from  any  one 
point  of  view.  This  effect  is  shown  in  the  description  which 
follows  : 

\/  On  one  side  he  had  left  the  yellow  earth  with  the  coming  noon,  but  it 
was  still  morning  as  he  ivefit  down  on  the  other  side.  The  laurel  and 
rhododendron  still  reeked  with  dew  in  the  deep,  ever-shaded  ravine.  The 
ferns  drenched  his  stirrups,  as  he  brushed  through  the7n^  and  each  dripping 
tree  top  broke  the  sunlight  and  let  it  drop  in  tentlike  beams  through  the 
shimmering  under-mist.  A  bird  flashed  here  and  there  through  the  green 
gloom,  but  there  was  no  sound  in  the  air  but  the  footfalls  of  his  horse  atid 
the  easy  creaking  of  leather  beneath  him.,  the  drip  of  dew  overhead  and  the 
running  of  water  below. 

About  him  the  beech  leaves  gave  back  the  gold  of  the  autumn  sunlight, 
and  a  little  ravine,  high  under  the  crest  of  the  mottled  mountain,  was  on 
fire  with  the  scarlet  of  maple.  Not  even  yet  had  the  morning  chill  left  the 
densely  shaded  parts.  When  he  got  to  the  bare  crest  of  a  little  rist,  he 
could  see  up  the  creek  a  spiral  of  blue  rising  swiftly  from  a  stone  chimney. 
Geese  and  ducks  were  hunting  crawfish  in  the  little  creek  that  ran  from  a 
milk  house  of  logs  half  hidden  by  willows  at  the  edge  of  the  forest,  and  a 
turn  in  the  path  brought  to  view  a  log  cabin  well  chinked  with  stones  and 
plaster  and  with  a  well-built  porch.  A  fence  ran  around  the  yard  and 
there  was  a  meat  house  near  a  little  orchard  of  apple  trees  under  which 
were  many  hives  of  bee-gums.  This  man  had  things  "hung  up"  and  was 
well-to-do.  — The  Trail  of  the  Lonesome  Pine,  Fox. 

Notice  the  continuous  change  of  the  point  of  view  indicated 
by  the  italicized  words,  and  note  that  the  successive  scenes  of 
this  description,  no  two  of  which  could  be  seen  from  any  one 
point  of  view,  together  form  one  continuous  or  panoramic 
picture  because  they  portray  the  country  through  which  the 
rider  passed. 

The  clearness  with  which  details  are  seen  from  a  chang- 
ing point  of  view  is  affected  by  the  speed  with  which  the 


56  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

point  of  view  changes.  If  the  observer  has  normal  eyesight 
and  is  moving  at  moderate  speed,  he  will  see  details  quite  as 
clearly  as  if  his  point  of  view  were  stationary.  If  he  moves 
at  a  somewhat  rapid  rate  of  speed,  the  smaller  details  become 
invisible.  As  his  speed  increases,  larger  and  larger  details 
become  invisible,  until,  when  his  speed  becomes  very  great, 
objects  rush  past  in  an  indistinguishable  blur.  Illustrations 
of  these  effects  occur  when  a  person  is  moving  at  varying 
degrees  of  railroad  speed. 

In  order  to  form  into  one  continuous  picture  the  various 
scenes  observed  from  a  changing  point  of  view,  each  change 
in  point  of  view  must  be  definitely  stated  or  clearly  impHed. 
A  series  of  scenes  which  differ  greatly  in  chief  impression 
may  become  parts  of  one  continuous  picture  if  each  change 
in  point  of  view  be  definitely  stated  or  clearly  implied. 

EXERCISE  VII 

Study  the  following  descriptions  : 


After  a  while  the  party  came  to  a  shallow  wady,  down  which,  turning  to 
the  right  hand,  the  guide  led  them.  The  bed  of  the  cut  was  somewhat 
soft  from  recent  rains  and  quite  bold  in  its  descent.  Momentarily,  how- 
ever, it  widened ;  and  ere  long  the  sides  became  bluffs  ribbed  with  rocks 
much  scarred  by  floods  rushing  to  lower  depths  ahead.  Finally,  from  a 
narrow  passage,  the  travelers  entered  a  spreading  vale  which  was  v^ry 
delightful ;  but  come  upon  suddenly  from  the  yellow,  unrelieved,  verdure- 
less  plain,  it  had  the  effect  of  a  freshly  discovered  paradise.  The  water- 
channels  winding  here  and  there,  definable  by  crisp  white  shingling, 
appeared  like  threads  tangled  among  islands  green  with  grasses  and 
fringed  with  reeds.  Up  from  the  final  depths  of  the  valley  of  the  Jordan 
some  venturous  oleanders  had  crept,  and  with  their  large  bloom  now- 
starred  the  sunken  place.  One  palm  tree  arose  in  royal  assertion.  The 
bases  of  the  boundary  walls  were  cloaked  with  clambering  vines,  and 
under  a  leaning  cliff  over  on  the  left  the  mulberry  grove  had  planted  itself, 
proclaiming  the  spring  which  the  party  were  seeking.     And  thither  the 


DESCRIPTION  57 

guide  conducted  them,  careless  of  whistling  partridges  and  lesser  birds  of 
brighter  hues  roused  whirring  from  the  reedy  coverts. 

—  Ben  Htir^  Wallace. 

B 

Panting  and  fatigued,  he  threw  himself,  late  in  the  afternoon,  on  a 
green  knoll  covered  with  mountain  herbage,  that  crowned  the.  brow  of  a 
precipice.  From  an  opening  between  the  trees  he  could  overlook  all  the 
lower  country  for  many  a  mile  of  rich  woodland.  He  saw  at  a  distance 
the  lordly  Hudson,  far,  far  below  him,  moving  on  its  silent  but  majestic 
course,  with  the  reflection  of  a  purple  cloud,  or  the  sail  of  a  lagging  bark, 
here  and  there  sleeping  on  its  glassy  bosom,  and  at  last  losing  itself  in  its 
blue  highlands. 

On  the  other  side,  he  looked  down  into  a  deep  mountain  glen,  wild, 
lonely,  and  shagged,  the  bottom  filled  with  fragments  from  the  impending 
cliffs  and  scarcely  lighted  by  the  reflecting  rays  of  the  setting  sun. 

—  Rip  Va7t  Winkle^  Irving. 


It  was  one  of  those  spacious  farmhouses,  with   high-ridged  but  low- 
sloping  roofs>  built  in  the  style  handed  down  from  the  first   Dutch  settlers, 
the  low  projecting  eaves  forming  a  piazza  along  the  front,  capable  of  being 
closed  up  in  bad  weather.     Under  this  were  hung  flails,  harness,  various 
utensils    of  husbandry,   and  nets  for   fishing   in    the    neighboring   river. 
Benches  were  built  along  the  sides  for  summer  use,  and  a  great  spinning- 
wheel  at  one  end,  and  a  churn  at  the  other,  showed  the  various  uses  to 
which  this  important  porch  might  be  devoted.     From  this  piazza  wonder- 
ing Ichabod  entered  the  hall  which  formed  the  center  of  the  mansion  and 
the  place  of  usual  residence.     Here,  rows  of  resplendent  pewter,  ranged  on 
a  long  dresser,  dazzled  his  eyes.     In  one  corner  stood  a  huge  bag  of  linsey- 
woolsey  ready  to  be  spun,  in  another,   a  quantity  of  linsey-woolsey  just 
from  the  loom;  ears  of  Indian  corn,  and  strings   of  dried    apples    and 
peaches,  hung  in  gay  festoons  along  the  walls,  mingled  with  the  gaud  of 
red  peppers ;  and  a  door  left  ajar  gave  him  a  peep  into  the  best  parlor, 
where    the    claw-footed    chairs    and    dark    mahogany    tables    shone   like 
mirrors  ;  andirons,  with  their  accompanying  shovels  and  tongs,  glistened 
from  their  covert  of  asparagus  tops:  mock  oranges  and  conch  shells  dec- 
orated the  mantelpiece  ;  strings  of  various-colored  birds*  eggs  were  sus- 
pended above  it,  a  great  ostrich  egg  was  hung  from  the  center  of  the  room, 


58  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITIOxX 

and  a  corner  cupboard,  knowingly  left  open,  displayed  immense  treasures 
of  old  silver  and  well-mended  china. 

—  The  Legend  of  Sleepy  Hollow ^  Irving. 

1 .  State  the  number  and  the  nature  of  the  scenes  which  together  form 
one  continuous  picture  in  each  description. 

2.  State  the  impression  which  each  scene  makes  in  itself. 

3.  Name  the  words  or  the  groups  of  words  which  indicate  a  change  in 
the  point  of  view, 

THEME  VI 

I .    Describe  a  park  by  depicting  in  some  detail  its  various  parts,  indicat- 
ing in  as  few  words  as  possible  your  various  changes  in  point  of  view. 
-7..    Describe  the  same  park  from  a  single  point  of  view. 
a.   What  advantage  has  each  point  of  view  ? 

3.  Describe  the  view  from  a  hill  top  or  from  a  lookout. 

4.  Describe  the  view  from  a  car  window  or  from  an  automobile. 

5.  Describe  the  view  seen  in  a  stroll. 

In  each  description  : 

a.  How  many  points  of  view  have  you  used  ? 

b.  By  what  words  have  you  indicated  each  change  in  point  of  view  ? 

The  Order  of  Details.  —  While  the  order  in  which  the  details 
of  an  artistic  description  are  given  must  always  be  that  in 
which  they  catch  the  attention  of  the  observer,  the  order  will 
vary  according  to  the  relative  position  of  the  conspicuous 
details  in  the  view. 

From  Near  to  Far.  — The  order  in  which  the  details  are 
presented  in  some  of  the  descriptions  already  given  is  from 
near  to  far,  an  order  frequently  used  when  there  is  in  the 
scene  no  one  detail  of  sufficient  interest  to  hold  the  attention 
of  the  observer. 

EXERCISE  VIII 

Study  the  following  descriptions  : 

A 

...  in  front  of  him  was  the  misty  darkness.  Though  he  strained  his 
eyes  to  penetnate  this  misty  distance,  he  could  see  nothing  ;   now  it  seemed 


DESCRIPTION  59 

to  brighten  up  a  little,  then  there  seemed  to  be  some  black  object ;  then 
he  imagined  that  he  saw  a  light  which  he  thought  must  be  the  watch-fires 
where  the  enemy  were,  and  then  again  he  told  himself  that  his  eyes  had 
deceived  him.  —  Tolstoi. 

B 

From  one  of  the  windows  of  this  saloon  we  may  see  a  flight  of  broad 
stone  steps  descending  alongside  the  antique  and  massive  foundation  of 
the  capitol,  toward  the  battered  triumphal  arch  of  Septimius  Severus,  right 
below.  Farther  on,  the  eye  skirts  along  the  edge  of  the  desolate  Forum 
(where  Roman  washer  women  hang  out  their  linen  to  the  sun),  passing 
over  a  shapeless  confusion  of  modern  edifices,  piled  rudely  up  with  ancient 
brick  and  stone,  and  over  the  domes  of  Christian  churches,  built  on  the 
old  pavements  of  heathen  temples,  and  supported  by  the  very  pillars  that 
once  held  them.  At  a  distance  beyond  —  yet  a  little  way,  considering 
how  much  history  is  heaped  into  the  intervening  space  —  rises  that  great 
sweep  of  the  Coliseum,  with  the  blue  sky  brightening  through  its  upper 
tier  of  arches.  Far  off,  the  view  is  shut  in  by  all  the  Alban  Mountains, 
looking  just  the  same,  amid  all  this  decay  and  change,  as  when  Romulus 
gazed  thitherward  over  his  half-finished  wall. 

—  The  Marble  Faun,  H.\wthorne. 

In  each  description : 

1 .  State  the  point  of  view. 

2.  Name  the  chief  impression  given  by  the  scene. 

3.  State  the  order  in  which  the  details  are  presented. 

4.  Select  the  words  which  depict  accurately  or  suggest  vividly  the 

color,  the  shape,  or  the  position  of  details. 

5.  Select  from   a   standard  author  and  bring  to  class  a  description 

of  a  landscape  and  a  description  of  a  room  in  which  the  details 
are  presented  from  near  to  far. 

a.    Show  that  the  arrangement   of  details  is  a  natural  one 

from  the  nature  of  the  scene  and  from  the  point  of  view 

suggested. 

The  order  of  presenting  details  from  near  to  far  is  only 
one  of  several  possible  orders.  Picture  the  following  scene, 
noticing  the  order  in  which  the  details  come  into  view  : 

.  .  .  from  his  station  near  the  Green  he  had  before  him  in  one  view 
nearly  all  the  typical  features  of  this  pleasant  land.     High  up  against  the 


6o  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

horizon  were  the  huge,  conical  masses  of  hill,  like  giant  mounds  intended 
to  fortify  this  region  of  corn  and  grass  against  the  keen  and  hungry  winds 
of  the  north  ;  not  distant  enough  to  be  clothed  in  purple  mystery,  but  with 
somber  greenish  sides  visibly  speckled  with  sheep.  .  .  .  And  directly 
below  them  the  eye  rested  on  a  more  advanced  line  of  hanging  woods, 
divided  by  bright  patches  of  pasture  or  furrowed  crops,  and  not  yet  deep- 
ened into  the  uniform  leafy  curtains  of  high  summer,  but  still  showing  the 
warm  tints  of  the  young  oak  and  the  tender  green  of  the  ash  and  lime. 
Then  came  the  valley,  where  the  woods  grew  thicker,  as  if  they  had  rolled 
down  and  hurried  together  from  the  patches  left  smooth  on  the  slope,  that 
they  might  take  the  better  care  of  the  tall  mansion  which  lifted  its  parapets 
and  sent  its  faint  blue  summer  smoke  among  them.  Doubtless  there  was 
a  large  sweep  of  park  and  a  broad,  glassy  pool  in  front  of  that  mansion, 
but  the  swelling  slope  of  meadow  would  not  let  our  traveler  see  them  from 
the  village  green.  He  saw  instead  a  foreground  that  was  just  as  lovely  — 
the  level  sunlight  lying  like  transparent  gold  among  the  gently  curving 
stems  of  the  feathered  grass  and  the  tall  red  sorrel,  and  the  white  umbels 
of  the  hemlocks  lining  the  busy  hedgerows. 

—  Adam  Bede,  George  Eliot. 

From  Far  to  Near.  —  The  first  detail  that  comes  into  view- 
is  a  large  detail  on  the  horizon,  each  new  detail  is  nearer  to 
the  observer  than  is  the  one  just  before  it,  and  the  last  details 
are  directly  under  the  eye  of  the  observer;  i.e.y  the  order  in 
which  these  details  come  into  view  is  from  far  to  near.  The 
details  of  a  view  are  usually  seen  from  far  to  near  when  the 
detail  that  is  conspicuous  enough  to  catch  the  observer's 
attention  first  is  in  the  distance. 


EXERCISE  IX 

Study  the  following  descriptions  : 


Steep  banks,  here  wooded,  there  scarred  by  outcropping  capes  of  pur- 
plish red-rock,  between  them  the  wide  blue  avenue  of  the  mighty  river,  an 
avenue  up  which  crawled  a  distant  ocean  steamship,  a  western  sky  dappled 


DESCRIPTION  "61 

below,  above  striped  with  one  dark,  sinister  band  of  cloud ;  these  were  the 
background.  In  the  foreground,  a  little  steamer  bobbed  and  tossed  on  the 
restless  waves,  small  and  fragile,  reduced  to  the  look  of  a  child's  toy  in 
comparison  with  the  huge  arms  of  steel  lattice  springing  from  the  bank  on 
either  hand.  —  The  Bridge  Builders,  Ray. 


B 

The  hall  was  arcaded,  with  a  gallery  supported  on  columns  of  pale 
yellow  marble.  Tall  clumps  of  flowering  plants  were  grouped  against  a 
background  of  dark  foliage  in  the  angles  of  the  walls.  On  the  crimson 
carpet  a  deer  hound  and  two  or  three  spaniels  dozed  luxuriously  before  the 
lire,  and  the  light  from  the  great  central  lantern  overhead  shed  a  brightness 
on  the  women's  hair  and  struck  sparks  from  their  jewels  as  they  moved. 

—  The  House  of  Mirth,  Wharton. 


Meanwhile,  the  Queen  had  no  sooner  stepped  on  the  bridge  than  a  new 
spectacle  was  provided ;  for,  as  soon  as  the  music  gave  signal  that  she  was 
so  far  advanced,  a  raft,  so  disposed  as  to  resemble  a  small  floating  island, 
illuminated  by  a  great  variety  of  torches  and  surrounded  by  floating  pag- 
eants formed  to  represent  sea  horses,  on  which  sat  Tritons,  Nereids,  awd 
other  fabulous  deities  of  the  seas  and  rivers,  made  its  appearance  upon  the 
lake,  and,  issuing  from  behind  a  small  heronry  where  it  had  been  concealed, 
floated  gently  towards  the  farther  end  of  the  bridge. 

—  Kenilworth,  Scott. 

D 

As  he  rose,  a  flash  of  lightning  that  seemed  as  if  the  whole  of  the 
heavens  were  opened,  illuminated  the  darkness.  By  its  light,  between  the 
Isle  of  Lemaire  and  Croiselle,  a  quarter  of  a  league  distant,  Dantes  saw, 
like  a  specter,  a  fishing  boat  driven  rapidly  on  by  the  force  of  the  winds 
and  waves.  A  second  after,  he  saw  it  again  approaching  nearer.  Dantes 
cried  at  the  top  of  his  voice  to  warn  them  of  their  danger,  but  they  saw  it 
themselves.  Another  flash  showed  him  four  men  clinging  to  the  shattered 
mast  and  the  rigging,  while  a  fifth  clung  to  the  broken  rudder. 

The  men  he  beheld  saw  him,  doubtless,  for  their  cries  were  carried  to 
his  ears  by  the  wind.     Above  the  splintered  mast  a  sail  rent  to  tatters  was 


6i  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH    CuMPOSiriOX 

waving;  suddenly  the  ropes  that  still  held  it  gave  way.  and  it  disappeared 
in  the  darkness  of  the  night,  like  a  vast  seabird.  At  the  same  moment  a 
violent  crash  was  heard,  and  cries  of  distress.  Perched  on  the  summit  of 
the  rock,  Dantes  saw  by  the  lightning  the  vessel  in  pieces  ;  and  amongst 
the  fragments  were  visible  the  agonized  features  of  the  unhappy  sailors. 
Then  all  became  dark  again.  —  The  Count  of  Monte  Cristo^  Dumas. 

In  each  desctiption  : 

1.  State  the  point  of  view. 

2.  State  the  order  in  which  the  details  are  presented. 

3.  Explain  why  the  details  are  presented  in  this  order. 

4.  Name  the  connecting  words  or  phrases  that  indicate  the  relative 

position  of  details. 

THEME    VII 

I.  Write  a  description  of  a  landscape  which  demands  that  the  details 
be  presented  from  far  to  near. 

a.  By  what  words  have  you  indicated  the    relative  po.sition  of  the 

details? 

b.  What  characteristics  of  details  have  you  depicted  that  in  them- 

selves suggest  the  distance  of  the  details  from  the  point   of 
view  ? 

Notice  the  order  of  details  in  the  following  scene  : 

Uncle  Yeroshka's  cottage  was  tolerably  large,  and  not  old,  but  the  ab- 
sence of  a  woman's  hand  was  very  noticeable  in  it  .  .  .  his  whole  apart- 
ment was  filthy  and  in  the  greatest  disorder.  On  the  table  were  flung  his 
blood-stained  coat,  a  half  of  a  cake,  and  ne.xt  to  it  a  plucked  and  torn  jack- 
daw, kept  for  his  hawk  to  eat.  Scattered  about  on  the  benches  lay  his 
porshni,  a  gun,  a  dagger,  a  bag,  wet  garments,  and  rags.  In  the  corner, 
in  a  tub  full  of  dirty,  ill-smelling  water,  another  pair  of  porshni  were  soak- 
ing; there  also  stood  a  carbine  and  a  pheasant-lure.  On  the  dirty  floc>r 
were  thrown  a  net  and  a  few  dead  pheasants,  and  a  pullet,  fastened  by  its 
leg,  was  wandering  about,  picking  up  what  she  could  find.  In  the  cold 
oven  stood  a  broken  jug,  filled  with  some  sort  of  milk-like  liquid.  On  the 
oven  sat  a  screaming  falcon,  trying  to  tear  itself  away  from  its  cord,  and  on 
the  edge  quietly  sat  a  molting  hawk,  looking  askance  at  the  pullet,  and 
occasionally  tipping  his  head  to  one  side  or  the  other. 


DESCRIPTION  63 

Uncle  Yeroshka  himself  .  .  .  lay  on  his  back  on  his  short  bed,  placed 
between  the  wall  and  the  oven.  .  .  .  The  air  of  the  whole  room, 
and  especially  the  corner  where  the  old  man  lay,  was  filled  with  that  strong 
but  not  disagreeable  conglomeration  of  odors  which  the  old  man  carried 
about  him.  —  The  Cossacks^  Tolstoi. 


/: 


From  General  to  Specific.  —  In  this  description  the  first 
thing  given  is  a  general  notion  of  the  size  and  the  character 
of  the  cottage.  Then  follow  the  details  which  help  to  give 
it,  put  in  the  order  of  their  conspicuousness  in  the  room  : 
first,  large  things,  easily  seen,  like  the  table  and  the  benches 
with  what  is  on  them ;  next,  things  less  quickly  seen,  like  the 
tub  in  the  corner  and  the  pheasants  on  the  floor ;  and,  lastly, 
smaller  things,  like  the  jug  in  the  oven ;  or  more  remote 
things,  like  the  falcon  and  the  hawk.  This  arrangement  of 
details  is  known  as  from  general  to  specific,  and  is  used 
whenever  the  general  notion  of  a  view  impresses  one  first. 

EXERCISE  X 

Explain  the  order  of  details  in  the  following  description  : 

The  fire  had  left  nothing  but  a  few  charred  fragments  of  the  wreck. 
There  had  been  no  means  of  stopping  it,  and  it  had  almost  completely 
swept  away  the  cars  in  which  it  had  broken  out.  Certain  of  the  cars  to 
windward  were  not  burnt ;  these  lay  capsized  beside  the  track,  bent  and 
twisted,  and  burst  athwart,  fantastically,  like  the  pictures  of  derailed  cars 
as  Matt  had  seen  them  in  the  illustrated  papers ;  the  locomotive,  pitched 
into  a  heavy  drift,  was  like  some  dead  monster  that  had  struggled  hard  for 
its  life.  Where  the  fire  had  raged,  there  was  a  wide  black  patch  in  the 
whiteness  glistening  everywhere  else ;  there  were  ashes,  and  writhen  iron- 
work, and  bits  of  charred  woodwork  ;  but  nothing  to  tell  who  or  how  many 
had  died  there.  —  The  Quality  of  Mercy,  Howell. 

THEME    Vm 

Using  the  method  from  general  to  specific : 

1.  Describe  either  an  assembly  hall  or  a  class  room. 

2.  Describe  the  village  green  in  your  town  or  some  square  in  your  city. 


64  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

In  each  description: 

a.  By  what  words   have   you   suggested   a  general  notion  of  the 

scene  ? 

b.  What  made  you  present  the  specific  details  in  the  order  which 

you  used  ? 

Sometimes,  ^s  in  the  description  given  below,  the  interest 
centers  upon  one  object  like  "the  little  old  gray  house,  with 
its  gray  barn  and  low  wagon  shed,"  and  all  the  other  details 
of  the  view  seem  to  gather  around  this  object  as  setting;  i.e.^ 
to  throw  it  into  prominence. 

The  little  old  gray  house,  with  its  gray  barn  and  low  wagon  shed,  stood 
in  the  full  sun  at  the  top  of  a  gullied  and  stony  lane.  Behind  it  the  ancient 
forest,  spruce  and  fir  and  hemlock,  came  down  and  brooded  darkly  over 
the  edge  of  the  rough,  stump-strewn  pasture.  The  lane,  leading  up  to  the 
house  from  the  main  road,  climbed  between  a  sloping  buckwheat  field  on 
the  one  hand  and  a  buttercupped  meadow  on  the  other.  On  either  side  of 
the  lane,  cutting  it  off  from  the  fields,  straggled  a  zigzag  snake  fence,  with 
milkweed,  tansy,  and  mullein  growing  raggedly  in  its  corners. 

—  The  House  in  the  Water,  Roberts. 

.  Grouping  Details  about  a  Central  Object.  — Whenever  in  a 
V  description  there  is  to  be  a  chief  object  of  interest,  the 
method  of  development  to  be  used  is  the  method  of  grouping 
details  about  a  central  object.  The  order  in  zvJiicJi  details  are 
introdiieed  for  setting  depends  npon  their  relation  to  the  chiej 
detail  i}i  position  a?id  importa7iee. 

EXERCISE  XI 

Study  the  following  descriptions  : 


Knockwinnock  still  preserved  much  of  the  external  attributes  of  a 
baronial  castle.  It  had  its  drawbridge,  though  now  never  drawn  up,  and 
its  dry  moat,  the  sides  of  which  had  been  planted  with  shrubs,  chiefly  of 
the  evergreen  trii)cs.     Above  these  rose  the  old  building,  partly  from  a 


DESCRIPTION  65 

foundation  of  red  rock  scarped  down  to  the  sea  beach,  and  partly  from  the 
steep  green  verge  of  the  moat.  The  building  flung  its  broad  shadow  upon 
the  tufted  foliage  of  the  shrubs  beneath  it,  while  the  front  windows  sparkled 
in  the  sun.  —  The  Antiquary^  Scott. 


B 

It  was  a  little  painted  frame  house,  back  from  the  street,  fronted  by  a 
precise  bit  of  lawn,  with  a  willow  bush  at  one  corner.  A  white  picket 
fence  effectually  separated  it  from  a  broad,  shaded,  not  unpleasant  street. 
An  osage  hedge  and  a  board  fence  respectively  bounded  the  side  and  back. 

—  The  Blazed  Trail,  S.  E.  White. 


Buck  lived  at  the  big  house  in  the  sun-kissed  Santa  Clara  Valley. 
Judge  Miller's  place  it  was  called.  It  stood  back  from  the  road,  half  hid- 
den among  the  trees,  through  which  glimpses  could  be  caught  of  the  wide 
cool  veranda  that  ran  around  its  four  sides.  The  house  was  approached 
by  graveled  driveways  which  wound  about  through  wide-spreading  lawns 
and  under  the  interlacing  boughs  of  tall  poplars. 

—  The  Call  of  the  Wild,  London. 

D 

In  the  Acadian  land,  on  the  shore  of  the  Basin  of  Minas, 
Distant,  secluded,  still,  the  little  village  of  Grand-Prd 
Lay  in  the  fruitful  valley.     Vast  meadows  stretched  to  the  eastward, 
Giving  the  valley  its  name,  and  pasture  to  flocks  without  number. 
Dikes,  that  the  hands  of  the  farmers  had  raised  with  labor  incessant. 
Shut  out  the  turbulent  tides ;  but  at  stated  seasons  the  floodgates 
Opened,  and  welcomed  the  sea  to  wander  at  will  o'er  the  meadows. 
West  and  south  there  were  fields  of  flax,  and  orchards  and  cornfields 
Spreading  afar  and  unfenced  o'er  the  plain  ;  and  away  to  the  northward 
Blomidon  rose,  and  the  forests  old,  and  aloft  on  the  mountains 
Sea  fogs  pitched  their  tents,  and  mists  from  the  mighty  Atlantic 
Looked  on  the  happy  valley,  but  ne'er  from  their  station  descended. 
There,  in  the  midst  of  its  farms,  reposed  the  Acadian  village. 

—  Evangeline,  Longfellow. 


66  PR.\CTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 


On  the  right  amid  a  profusion  of  thickets,  knolls,  and  crags,  lay  the  bed 
of  a  broad  mountain  lake,  lightly  curled  into  tiny  waves  by  the  breath  of 
the  morning  breeze,  each  glittering  in  its  course  under  the  influence  of 
the  sunbeams.  High  hills,  rocks,  and  banks,  waving  with  natural  forests 
of  birch  and  oak,  formed  the  border  of  this  enchanting  sheet  of  water ; 
and,  as  their  leaves  rustled  in  the  wind  and  twinkled  in  the  sun,  gave  to 
the  depth  of  solitude  a  sort  of  life  and  vivacity. 

—  Morniftg  in  the  Highlands  of  Scotland. 


The  valley  lay  like  a  ribbon  thrown  into  the  midst  of  the  encompassing 
hills.  The  grass  which  grew  there  was  soft  and  fine  and  abundant ;  the 
trees  which  sprang  from  its  dark,  rich  mold  were  tall  and  great  of  girth. 
A  bright  stream  flashed  through  it,  and  the  sunshine  fell  warm  upon  the 
grass  and  changed  the  tassels  of  the  maize  into  golden  plumes.  Above 
the  valley,  east  and  north  and  south,  rose  the  hills,  clad  in  living  green, 
mantled  with  the  purpling  grape,  wreathed  morn  and  eve  with  trailing  mist. 
To  the  westward  were  the  mountains,  and  they  dwelt  apart  in  a  blue  haze. 

—  Audrey <f  Johnston. 

EXERCISE  XU 
In  each  description : 

1.  State  the  point  of  view. 

2.  Name  the  chief  impression  given  by  the  scene. 

3.  State  the  order  in  which  the  groups  of  details  are  presented. 

4.  Give  the  reason  for  presenting  the  groups  of  details  in  the  order 

in  which  they  occur. 

THEME   IX 

1.  Portray  a  scene  that  you  know  in  which  a  building  or  a  group  of 
buildings  is  the  central  object  of  interest. 

2.  Portray  a  scene  that  you  know  in  which  anything  other  than  a  build- 
ing or  a  group  of  buildings  is  the  chief  object  of  interest. 

a.  In  what  order  have  you  depicted  the  details  in  each  of  the  de- 

scriptions? 

b.  What  is  there  in  the  nature  of  the  scenes  depicted  that  demands 

the  order  of  presentation  of  details  that  you  have  used  ,' 


DESCRIPTION  67 

Combination  of  Orders.  —  Many  simple  scenes  may  be  de- 
picted by  the  use  of  a  single  method  of  arrangement  of  details. 
There  are  many  scenes,  however,  which  can  be  described  sat- 
isfactorily only  by  using  successively  two  or  more  of  these 
methods.  The  nature  of  the  scene  and  the  point  of  view  of 
the  observer  determine  what  method  or  methods  shall  be  used. 

The  following  description  illustrates  the  use  of  more  than 
one  method  of  arranging  details  in  describing  a  single  scene : 

As  Pierre  mounted  the  steps  that  led  to  the  top  of  the  mound,  he  looked 
out  over  the  prospect,  and  was  overwhehned  at  the  beauty  of  the  spectacle. 

It  was  the  same  panorama  he  had  surveyed  the  day  before  from  the  same 
elevation ;  but  now  all  those  localities  were  covered  with  troops  and  the 
smoke  of  the  cannon  ;  and  the  slanting  rays  of  the  bright  sun,  rising  be- 
hind Pierre  at  the  left,  fell  upon  it  through  the  clear  morning  atmosphere 
in  floods  of  light,  shot  with  golden  and  rosy  tones  and  intermingled  with 
long  dark  shadows. 

The  distant  forests  which  bounded  the  panorama,  just  as  if  they  were 
hewn  out  of  some  precious  yellow-green  gem,  could  be  traced  by  the  curving 
line  of  the  tree  tops  against  the  horizon,  and  between  them,  beyond  Valu- 
yevo,  the  Smolensk  highway,  now  all  covered  with  troops,  cut  sharply. 

Still  nearer  gleamed  the  golden  fields  and  groves.  Everywhere,  in  front 
and  behind,  at  the  right  hand  and  at  the  left,  troops  were  swarming.  The 
whole  scene  was  animated,  majestic,  and  marvelous :  but  what  surprised 
Pierre  more  than  all  was  the  spectacle  of  the  battlefield  itself,  Borodino, 
and  the  vallev  through  which  the  Kalotcha  River  ran. 

Over  the  Kalotcha  at  Borodino,  and  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  more 
noticeably  on  the  left  bank,  where,  through  marshy  intervales,  the  Voina 
falls  into  the  Kalotcha,  was  that  mist  which  so  mysteriously  veils,  spreads, 
and  grows  transparent  as  the  bright  sun  mounts,  and  magically  colors  and 
transforms  everything  that  is  seen  through  it. 

The  smoke  of  the  cannon  was  blending  with  this  mist,  and  over  this 
blended  mist  and  smoke,  everywhere,  gleamed  the  lightning  flashes  of  the 
morning  brilliancy,  here  over  the  water,  there  on  dewy  meadows,  there  on 
the  bayonets  of  the  infantry  swarming  along  the  banks  and  in  the  village. 

Through  this  mist  could  be  seen  a  white  church,  a  few  roofs  of  Borodino 
cottages,  here  and  there  compact  masses  of  soldiers,  here  and  there  green 
caissons,  cannons.     And   this  scene  was  in  motion,  or  seemed  to  be  in 


68  PRACTICAL   EXCiLISH    COMPOSITION 

motion,  because  this  mist  and  smoke  was  stretched  over  the  whole  space. 
On  these  lowlands  around  Borodino,  covered  with  mist,  so  also  above,  and 
especially  at  the  left,  over  the  whole  line,  over  the  woods,  over  the  fields, 
in  the  hollows,  on  the  summits  of  the  rising  ground,  constantly  born,  self- 
evolved  from  nothing,  rose  the  puffs  of  cannon  smoke ;  now  singly,  now 
in  groups ;  now  scattered,  now  clustered ;  and  as  they  formed,  and  grew, 
and  coalesced,  and  melted  together,  they  seemed  to  cover  the  whole  space. 

—  War  and  Peace,  Tolstoi. 

The  first  sentence  gives  the  point  of  view  and  the  chief 
impression  of  the  scene.  The  second  sentence  maps  out  the 
scene  as  a  whole  by  means  of  the  method  of  presenting  de- 
tails by  going  from  the  general  to  the  specific.  The  third, 
fourth,  fifth,  sixth,  and  seventh  sentences  give  a  sense  of  the 
extent  of  the  view  by  presenting  two  large  details  by  proceed- 
ing from  far  to  near,  though  each  of  these  details  is  incident- 
ally developed  by  proceeding  from  the  general  to  the  specific. 
The  seventh  sentence,  which  makes  the  Kalotcha  River  the 
detail  of  chief  interest  for  the  minute,  illustrates  a  use  of  the 
method  of  grouping  details  about  a  central  figure  by  pictur- 
ing the  mist  as  enveloping  certain  places  which  are  indicated 
in  their  relation  to  the  Kalotcha.  The  remainder  of  the  de- 
scription is  developed  by  the  use  of  the  method  of  presenting 
details  by  going  from  the  general  to  the  specific. 

EXERCISE   Xm 

Study  the  following  descriptions  : 


It  was  an  ancient,  dark-looking  room,  with  oaken  wainscoting,  a  sanded 
floor,  and  a  high  mantelpiece.  The  walls  were  ornamented  with  three  or 
four  old  colored  prints  in  black  frames,  each  print  representing  a  naval 
engagement,  with  a  couple  of  men-of-war  banging  away  at  each  other  most 
vigorously,  while  another  vessel  or  two  were  blowing  up  in  the  distance, 
and  the  foreground  presented  a  miscellaneous  collection  of  broken  masts 
and  blue  legs  sticking  up  out  of  the  water.    Depending  from  the  ceiling,  in 


DESCRIPTION  69 

the  center  of  the  room,  were  a  gaslight  and  bell  pull ;  on  each  side  were 
three  or  four  long  narrow  tables,  behind  which  was  a  thickly  planted  row 
of  those  slippery,  shiny-looking  wooden  chairs  peculiar  to  hostelries  of  this 
description.  The  monotonous  appearance  of  the  sanded  boards  was 
relieved  by  an  occasional  spittoon,  and  a  triangular  pile  of  those  useful 
articles  adorned  the  two  upper  corners  of  the  apartment. 

—  Sketches  by  B03,  Dickens. 
B 

The  voice  came  from  the  further  end  of  a  long,  spacious  room  sur- 
rounded with  shelves,  on  which  books  and  antiquities  were  arranged  in 
scrupulous  order.  Here  and  there,  on  separate  stands  in  front  of  the 
shelves,  were  placed  a  beautiful  feminine  torso ;  a  headless  statue,  with  an 
uplifted  muscular  arm  wielding  a  bladeless  sword ;  rounded,  dimpled,  in- 
fantile limbs  severed  from  the  trunk,  inviting  the  lips  to  kiss  the  cold  mar- 
ble ;  some  well-preserved  Roman  busts  ;  and  two  or  three  vases  of  AJagna 
Graecia.  A  large  table  in  the  center  was  covered  with  antique  bronze 
lamps  and  small  vessels  in  dark  pottery.  The  color  of  these  objects  was 
chiefly  pale  or  somber ;  the  vellum  bindings,  with  their  deep-ridged  backs, 
gave  little  relief  to  the  marble  livid  with  long  burial ;  the  once  splendid 
patch  of  carpet  at  the  farther  end  of  the  room  had  long  been  worn  to  dim- 
ness ;  the  dark  bronzes  wanted  sunlight  upon  them  to  bring  out  their  tinge 
of  green,  and  the  sun  was  not  yet  high  enough  to  send  gleams  of  bright- 
ness through  the  narrow  windows  that  looked  on  to  the  Via  de'  Bardi. 

—  Romola^  Eliot. 
In  each  description  : 

a.  Name  in  succession  the  different  orders  in  which  the  details  are 

arranged. 

b.  Show  that  the  scene  is  best  portrayed  by  the  use  of  the  various 

orders  of  arrangement  at  the  points  where  they  occur. 

THEME   X 

1.  Describe  a  gathering  of  people  where  there  are  several  centers  of 
interest. 

2.  Describe  a  room  where  there  are  several  centers  of  interest. 

In  each  of  your  compositions  : 

a.  What  orders  for  presenting  details  have  you  used  ? 

b.  What  in  the  scene  made  it  necessary  to  use  the  particular  orders 

that  you  have  used  in  presenting  details  ? 


70  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

Activity.  —  Life  and  action  are  in  themselves  material  for 
depiction.      Picture  the  following  scene  : 

Annixter,  arriving  at  the  post  office,  found  himself  involved  in  a  scene 
of  swiftly  shifting  sights  and  sounds.  Saddle  horses,  farm  wagons,  —  the 
inevitable  Studebakers,  —  buggies  gray  with  the  dust  of  country  roads, 
buckboards  with  squashes  and  grocery  packages  stowed  under  the  seat, 
two-wheeled  sulkies  and  training  carts,  were  hitched  to  the  gnawed  rail- 
ings and  zinc-sheathed  telegraph  poles  along  the  curb.  Here  and  there, 
on  the  edge  of  the  sidewalk,  were  bicycles,  wedged  into  bicycle  racks 
painted  with  cigar  advertisements.  Upon  the  asphalt  sidewalk  itself,  soft 
and  sticky  with  the  morning's  heat,  was  a  continuous  movement.  Men 
with  large  stomachs,  wearing  linen  coats  but  no  vests,  labored  ponder- 
ously up  and  down.  Girls  in  lawn  skirts,  shirt  waists,  and  garden  hats, 
went  to  and  fro,  invariably  in  couples,  coming  in  and  out  of  the  drug  store, 
the  grocery  store,  and  haberdasher's,  or  lingering  in  front  of  the  post 
office,  which  was  on  a  corner  under  the  I.O.  O.F.  hall.  Young  men,  in 
shirt  sleeves,  with  brown,  wicker  cufF  protectors  over  their  forearms,  and 
pencils  behind  their  ears,  bustled  in  front  of  the  grocery  store,  anxious 
and  preoccupied.  A  very  old  man,  a  Mexican,  in  ragged,  white  trousers  and 
bare  feet,  sat  on  a  horse  block  in  front  of  the  barber  shop,  holding  a  horse 
by  a  rope  around  its  neck.  A  Chinaman  went  by,  teetering  under  the 
weight  of  his  market  baskets  slung  on  a  pole  across  his  shoulders.  In  the 
neighborhood  of  the  hotel,  the  Yosemite  House,  traveling  salesmen,  drum- 
mers for  jewelry  firms  of  San  Francisco,  commercial  agents,  insurance 
men,  well-dressed,  metropolitan,  debonair,  stood  about  cracking  jokes,  or 
hurried  in  and  out  of  the  flapping  white  doors  of  the  Yosemite  bar  room. 
The  Yosemite  'bus  and  City  'bus  passed  up  the  street,  on  the  way  from  the 
morning  train,  each  with  its  two  or  three  passengers.  A  very  narrow 
wagon,  belonging  to  the  Cole  &  Colemore  Harvester  Works,  went  by, 
loaded  with  long  strips  of  iron  that  made  a  horrible  din  as  they  jarred 
over  the  unevenness  of  the  pavement.  The  electric  car  line,  the  city's 
boast,  did  a  bnsk  business,  its  cars  whirring  from  end  to  end  of  the  street, 
with  a  jangling  of  bells  and  a  moaning  plaint  of  gearing.  On  the  stone 
bulkheads  of  the  grass  plat  around  the  new  City  Hall,  the  usual  loafers  sat, 
chewing  tobacco,  swapping  stories,  in  the  park  were  the  inevitable  array 
of  nursemaids,  skylarking  couples,  and  ragged  little  boys.  A  single 
policeman,  in  gray  coat  and  helmet,  friend  and  acquaintance  of  every  man 
and  woman  in  the  town,  stood  by  the  park  entrance,  leaning  an  elbow  on 
ihe  fence  post,  twirling  his  club,  —  The  Octopus.  Norris. 


DESCRIl'TION  71 

Each  of  the  details  by  which  this  description  is  developed, 
whether  it  pictures  a  person  or  a  thing  as  standing  still  or  as 
in  action,  suggests  in  one  way  or  another  activity  of  human 
beings.  The  details  which  picture  people  or  things  as  stand- 
ing still  picture  them  as  they  appear  when  they  show  the 
result  of  action  or  the  preparation  for  action.  The  details 
which  picture  people  or  things  in  action  picture  them  as  per- 
forming the  action.  The  description  as  a  whole  pictures  a 
country  town  at  a  moment  when  it  is  showing  the  busy-ness 
which  is  its  typical  characteristic. 

Form  a  picture  from  the  following  description  : 

The  harvester,  shooting  a  column  of  thick  smoke  straight  upward,  vibrat- 
ing to  the  top  of  the  stack,  hissed,  clanked,  and  lurched  forward.  Instantly, 
motion  sprang  to  life  in  all  its  compound  parts ;  the  header  knives,  cutting 
a  thirty-six  foot  swath,  gnashed  like  teeth  :  beltings  slid  and  moved  like 
smooth  flowing  streams  ;  the  separator  whirred,  the  agitator  jarred  and 
crashed ;  cylinders,  augurs,  fans,  seeders  and  elevators,  drapers  and  chaff 
carriers  clattered,  rumbled,  buzzed,  and  clanged.  The  steam  hissed  and 
rasped ;  the  ground  reverberated  a  hollow  note,  and  the  thousands  upon 
thousands  of  wheat  stalks  sliced  and  slashed  in  the  clashing  shears  of  the 
header,  rattled  like  dry  rushes  in  a  hurricane,  as  they  fell  inward  and 
were  caught  up  by  an  endless  belt,  to  disappear  into  the  bowels  of  the  vast 
brute  that  devoured  them.  —  The  Octopus^  Norris. 

The  irresistible  power  of  the  harvester  as  it  cuts  through 
the  v^heat  field  is  suggested  by  depicting  the  rapid  motion  of 
each  of  its  conspicuous  parts  and  by  picturing  the  rapidity 
with  which  its  work  is  accomplished.  Each  detail  of  the 
description  portrays  rapid  motion  or  the  immediate  effect  of 
rapid  motion.  The  rapidity  of  the  motion  is  suggested  by 
depicting  the  sounds  which  accompany  the  motion.  The 
description  as  a  whole  pictures  the  harvester  at  its  moment 
of  greatest  activity. 

A  description  may  portray  activity  in  greater  or  less  degree. 
When  activity  is  the  chief  impression  of  a  scene,  each  of  the 


72  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

details  must  express  the  proper  degree  of  activity.  When 
activity  is  not  itself  the  chief  impression,  but  is  used  in  pictur- 
ing the  chief  impression,  the  actions  portrayed  must  express 
the  chief  impression. 

Form  a  picture  from  the  following  description : 

M'Adam  stooped  down,  .  .  .  and  beheld  a  tiny  yellow  puppy,  crouching 
defiant  in  the  dark,  and  glaring  out  with  fiery  light  eyes.  Seeing  itself 
remarked,  it  bared  its  little  teeth,  raised  its  little  bristles,  and  growled  a 
hideous  menace.  — Bob,  Son  of  Battle,  Ollivant. 

In  this  description,  the  fearlessness  of  the  dog's  defiance  is 
pictured  by  the  actions  which  it  performs,  one  after  another, 
as  it  sees  itself  observed. 

The  description  of  the  town,  the  description  of  the  harvester, 
and  the  description  of  the  dog  are  alike  in  that  all  are  devel- 
oped by  details  which  depict  actions.  They  are  unlike  in  that, 
in  the  description  of  the  town  and  of  the  harvester,  the  details 
picture  actions  which  are  taking  place  at  the  same  moment, 
while  in  the  description  of  the  dog,  the  details  picture 
actions  which  take  place  one  after  another. 

Description  in  Narrative  Form.  —  A  description  which  sug- 
gests the  chief  impression  given  by  a  person  or  a  thing  by 
picturing  that  person  or  thing  as  performing  successive  ac- 
tions is  description  in  narrative  form. 

EXERCISE   XIV 
Read  the  following  descriptions  : 

A 

The  master  in  charge  of  the  great  silent  schoolroom  touched  a  bell. 
Instantly  the  silence  was  broken  with  a  variety  of  sounds.  There  was  an 
outburst  of  confused  speech,  a  scraping  of  chairs  and  feet  on  the  wooden 
floor,  a  slamming  together  of  books,  and  a  banging  of  desk  lids.  For  the 
touching  of  the  bell  signified  that  the  last  study  hour  of  this  September 
afternoon  was  ended. — Jfardim^  of  St.  Ti)notlifs,  A.  S.  Pier. 


DESCRIPTION  ^  73 

B 

A  various  scene  the  clansmen  made, 

Some  sat,  some  stood,  some  slowly  strayed ; 

But  most,  with  mantles  folded  round. 

Were  couched  to  rest  upon  the  ground, 

Scarce  to  be  known  by  curious  eye, 

From  the  deep  heather  where  they  lie, 

So  well  was  matched  the  tartan  screen 

With  heath  bell  dark  and  brackens  green ; 

Unless  where,  here  and  there,  a  blade 

Or  lance's  point,  a  glimmer  made. 

Like  glowworm  twinkling  through  the  shade. 

—  The  Lady  of  the  Lake,  Scott. 

C 

There  was  a  flash  of  gray,  a  swish  of  wings,  a  cry  of  pain,  a  squawking, 
cowering,  scattering  flock  of  hens,  a  weakly  fluttering  pullet,  and  yonder, 
swinging  upward  into  the  October  sky,  a  marsh  hawk,  buoyant  and  gleaming 
silvery  in  the  sun.     Over  the  trees  he  beat,  circled  once,  and  disappeared. 

—  The  Face  of  the  Fields^  D.  L.  Sharp. 

D 

St.  Agnes'  Eve  —  ah,  bitter  chill  it  was  ! 

The  owl,  for  all  his  feathers,  was  a-cold ; 

The  hare  leaped  trembling  through  the  frozen  grass, 

And  silent  was  the  flock  in  woolly  fold ; 

Numb  were  the  beadsman's  fingers,  while  he  told 

His  rosary,  and  while  his  frosted  breath. 

Like  pious  incense  from  a  censer  old. 

Seemed  taking  flight  for  heaven. 

—  The  Eve  of  St.  Agnes,  Keats. 


.  .  .  suddenly  abaft. 
With  a  great  rush  of  rain. 
Making  the  ocean  white  with  spume, 
In  darkness  like  the  day  of  doom, 
On  came  the  hurricane. 


74  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

The  lightning  flashed  from  cloud  to  cloud, 

And  rent  the  sky  in  two ; 
A  jagged  flame,  a  single  jet 
Of  white  fire,  like  a  bayonet, 

That  pierced  the  eyeball  through. 

Then  all  was  dark  again, 

And  blacker  than  before. 

—  The  Ballad  of  Carmtlhany  Longfellow. 


A  man  rushed  by  him  at  a  single  stride, 
Haggard,  half-naked,  without  hat  or  cloak. 
Who  neither  turned,  nor  looked  at  him,  nor  spoke, 
But  leaped  into  the  blackness  of  the  night. 
And  vanished  like  a  specter  from  his  sight. 

—  King  Robert  of  Sicily,  Longfellow. 


A  southwest  wind  was  blowing  and  the  sky  was  black  when  the  fatal 
moment  came,  but  it  was  not  yet  raining.  Those  who  were  awake  and 
survived  remember  hearing  the  horrible  subterranean  thunder  that  preceded 
the  shock  and  might  have  been  a  warning  to  many  in  waking  hours  ;  it 
seemed  to  begin  far  away  and  to  approach  very  quickly,  swelling  to  a  ter- 
rific roar  just  before  the  crash.  Another  instant  and  the  solid  earth  rose 
and  fell  in  long  waves,  twice,  three  times,  four  times  perhaps,  and  the 
houses  and  churches  swayed  from  side  to  side,  in  the  darkness ;  for  the 
young  moon  had  set  before  midnight,  and  it  lacked  more  than  an  hour  of 
dawn.  The  whole  city  and  the  towns  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Straits 
fell  at  once  with  a  crash  that  no  language  can  describe ;  then  followed  the 
long  resounding  rumble  of  avalanches  of  masonry :  and  when  those  awfiil 
moments  were  over,  nearly  two  hundred  thousand  human  beings  were 
dead,  on  both  sides  of  the  Straits. 

Almost  at  the  same  moment  another  sound  was  heard,  almost  more 
terrible  than  the  first  —  the  sound  of  a  moving  mountain  of  water;  for  the 
sea  had  risen  bodily  in  a  monstrous  wave  and  was  sweeping  over  the  har- 
bor, carrying  away  hundreds  of  tons  of  masonry  from  the  outer  pier,  tearing 
ships  and  iron  steamers  from  their  moorings  like  mere  skiff"s  and  hurling 
them  against  the  ruins  of  the  great  Palazzata  that  was  built  along  the 


DESCRIPTION  75 

semicircular  quay,  only  to  sweep  them  back,  keel  upwards  and  full  of  dead 
and  dying  men,  as  the  hill  of  water  sank  down  and  ebbed  away.  When  it 
had  quite  subsided,  the  inner  portion  of  the  harbor  was  half  full  of  sand 
and  mud  and  stranded  wrecks.  — Outlook. 

In  each  description  : 

1.  State  the  chief  impression  given. 

2.  State  the  degree  of  activity  displayed. 

3.  Name  the  details  that  depict  color,  sound,  or  odor. 

4.  Name  the  details  that  depict  motion. 

5.  Name  the  words  that  state  motion. 

THEME   XI 

1.  Describe  a  railroad  station  at  the  moment  of  greatest  activity. 

2.  Describe  the  same  station  at  the  moment  of  least  activity. 

3.  Describe  a  cat  or  a  dog  at  the  moment  when  it  is  about  to  spring  at 
something. 

4.  Describe  the  same  animal  as  it  appears  when  affected  by  intense  heat. 

5.  Describe  a  person  as  he  appears  at  a  moment  of  great  excitement. 

In  each  of  your  compositions  : 

a.  What  are  the  main  details  .'' 

b.  Which  of  these  details  depict  action.^ 

c.  Which  of  these  details  depict  the  effect  of  action 

d.  What  actions  take  place  at  the  same  instant  of  time  ? 

e.  What  actions  are  successive  ? 

/.   Which  of  the  words  that  you  have  used  of  themselves  express  a 

high  degree  of  activity? 
g.   Which  words  suggest  the  absence  of  activity? 

SUMMARY 

To  make  artistic  description: 
I.   Choose  suitable  material. 

1.  Select  a  subject  that  appeals  to  you. 

2.  Choose  a  point  of  view. 

3.  Observe  the  subject  until  you  are  sure  of  the  chief  impression 

which  it  gives. 

4.  Decide  what  details  and  what  characteristics  of  the  details 

express  the  chief  impression. 


76  PR.\CTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

6.   Note  the  order  in  which  the  details   and   their  characteristics 
caught  your  eye. 

II.  Depict  your  subject  so  as  to  make  others  see  it  and  feel  about  it  as 
you  saw  it  and  felt  about  it. 

1.  State  or  clearly  indicate  your  point  of  view. 

2.  Present  the  details  and  the  characteristics  of  the  details  in  the 

order  in  which  they  catch  the  attention  from  the  point  of  view 
selected. 

3.  Choose  words  which  depict   accurately  or  suggest  vividly  the 

detail  or  the  characteristics  of  the  detail  which  you  are  por- 
traying. 

III.  Criticize  your  work. 

1.  Review  your  work  to  see: 

a.  That  the  point  of  view  is  either  expressed  or  clearly  implied. 

b.  That  you  have  omitted   no  detail   necessary  to  express  the 

chief  impression  given  by  the  scene  described. 

c.  That  you  have  included  no  detail  and  no  characteristic  of  any 

detail  that  is  invisible  from  the  point  of  view  selected. 

d.  That  the  order  in  which  you  have  presented  the  details  is  the 

order  in  which  you  saw  them  when  they  suggested  to  you 
the  chief  impression. 

e.  That  the  words  chosen    depict   or  suggest  accurately   and 

vividly  the  details  and  the  characteristics  of  details  which 
are  portrayed. 

2.  Examine  your  written  work  a  second  time  to  see : 

a.  That  each  sentence  makes  a  point. 

b.  That  each  sentence  is  grammatical. 

c.  That  each  sentence  is  properly  pimctuated. 

d.  That  each  word  is  correctly  spelled. 

Word  Portraiture.  —  Word  portraiture  is  the  depiction  of 
living  beings.     Form  a  picture  from  the  following  description  : 

...  up  the  river  not  far  away  they  beheld  a  person  coming  toward 
them  of  such  singular  appearance  they  forgot  all  else. 

Outwardly  the  man  was  rude  and  uncouth,  even  savage.  Over  a  thin, 
gaunt  visage  of  the  hue  of  brown  parchment,  over  his  shoulders  and  down 
his  back  below  the  middle,  in  witch-like  locks,  fell  a  covering  of  sun- 
scorched  hair.  His  eyes  were  burning-bright.  All  his  right  side  was 
naked,  and  of  the  color  of  his  face,  and  quite  as  meager;  a  shirt  of  the 
coarsest  camel's  hair  —  coarse  as  Bedouin  tent  cloth  —  clothed  the  rest  of 


DESCRIPTION  77 

his  person  to  the  knees,  being  gathered  at  the  waist  by  a  broad  girdle  of 
untanned  leather.  His  feet  were  bare.  A  scrip,  also  of  untanned  leather, 
was  fastened  to  the  girdle.  He  used  a  knotted  staff  to  help  him  forward. 
His  movement  was  quick,  decided,  and  strangely  watchful.  Every  little 
while  he  tossed  the  unruly  hair  from  his  eyes  and  peered  round  as  if 
searching  for  somebody.  —  Be/i  Nur,  Wallace. 

This  description  is  developed  in  four  stages  : 

I.  The  blocking  out  of  the  figure ;  t.i\,  the  outlining  of  the 
figure  against  a  background. 

II.  The  stating  of  the  chief  impression  given  by  the  man. 

III.  The  filling  in  of  the  details  of  the  figure: 

1.  The  picturing  of  the  head  in  the  three  details : 
a.    The  face  as  a  whole. 

d.    The  hair,  the  frame  of  the  face. 

c.  The  eyes,  the  one  conspicuous  feature  of  the 

face. 

2.  The  picturing  of  the  trunk  in  the  two  details : 
a.    The  naked  side. 

d.  The  clothing. 

3.  The  picturing  of  the  feet. 

IV.  The  picturing  of  movements  of  the  man  which  are 
indicative  of  character  and  of  mood. 

This  description  is  developed  entirely  by  the  depicting  of  a 
few  conspicuous  physical  details,  because  the  chief  impres- 
sion made  by  the  man,  rudeness  and  uncouthness,  expresses 
itself  in  physical  quahties  and  actions.  The  details  are  pre- 
sented from  head  to  foot ;  i.e.,  in  the  order  in  which,  under 
the  circumstances,  they  would  strike  the  eye  of  an  observer. 

Imagine  the  person  portrayed  in  the  following  description: 

He  was  a  small  and  singularly  thin  man,  with  blue  wandering  eyes 
under  the  blackest  possible  eyebrows  and  hair.  The  cheeks  were  hollow, 
the  complexion  as  yellow  as  that  of  the  typical  Anglo-Indian.  The  special 
character  of  the  mouth  was  hidden  by  a  fine  black  mustache,  but  his  pre- 


78  PRACTICAL    ENGLISH    COMPOSITION 

vailing  expression  varied  between  irritability  and  a  kind  of  plaintiveness. 
The  conspicuous  blue  eyes  were  as  a  rule  melancholy ;  but  they  could  be 
childishly  bright  and  self-assertive.  There  was  a  general  air  of  breeding 
about  Richard  Boyce,  of  that  air  at  any  rate  which  our  common  generaliza- 
tions connect  with  the  pride  of  old  family  ;  his  dress  was  careful  and  correct 
to  the  last  detail ;  and  his  hands  with  their  long  fingers  were  of  an  exces- 
sive delicacy,  though  marred  as  to  beauty  by  a  thinness  which  nearly 
amounted  to  emaciation.  —  Afarcella,  Mrs.  Humphrey  Warp. 

This  description  has  been  developed  by  first  blocking  out 
the  figure,  and  by  then  filling  in  details  in  the  order  in  which 
they  would  strike  the  eye  of  the  observer.  In  this  case,  the 
details  at  first  filled  in  are  those  which  portray  physical  pe- 
culiarities of  the  face ;  the  details  next  filled  in  are  details  of 
the  face  which  indicate  traits  of  character ;  the  details  last 
filled  in  are  other  details  of  the  figure  which  express  the  domi- 
nant quality  of  the  man's  character. 

In  this  description  the  background  is  implied,  not  defi- 
nitely suggested.  The  man  is  portrayed  as  he  appears  any- 
where under  ordinary  circumstances.  The  only  parts  of  the 
figure  described  in  detail  are  the  face  and  the  hands,  the  face 
in  minute  detail,  the  hands  in  some  detail.  Emphasis  is 
given  to  those  details  of  the  face  and  the  hands  which  indi- 
cate character.  The  details  of  the  face  are  presented  in  rela- 
tion to  the  eyes,  the  most  conspicuous  feature  of  the  face. 

Picture  the  person  portrayed  in  the  following  description  : 

Just  as  the  minstrel  sounds  were  staid, 

A  stranger  climbed  the  steepy  glade  ; 

His  martial  step,  his  stately  mien. 

His  hunting  suit  of  Lincoln  green, 

His  eagle  glance,  remembrance  claims  — 

'Tis  Snowdoun's  Knight,  'tis  James  Fitz-James. 

—  The  Lady  of  the  Lake,  ScOTT. 

In  the  verse,  "  a  stranger  climbed  the  steepy  glade,",  an 
approaching   figure   is   blocked   out  against  a  definite  back- 


DESCRIPTION  79 

ground.  The  four  details  by  which  the  picture  is  developed, 
(a)  **his  martial  step,"  (d)  "his  stately  mien,"  {c)  "  his  hunt- 
ing suit  of  Lincoln  green,"  (d)  "  his  eagle  glance,"  are  given 
in  the  order  in  which  they  would  strike  the  eye  of  an  observer 
who  was  watching  the  stranger  as  he  approached.  While 
these  details  do  not  delineate,  they  suggest  outline  of  body 
and  the  appearance  of  the  eyes.  Three  of  these  details,  the 
"  martial  step,"  the  "  stately  mien,"  the  "  eagle  glance,"  are 
details  of  appearance  which  indicate  training  and  character. 
Though  only  four  details,  so  broad  as  to  be  noticeable  at 
some  distance,  are  portrayed,  they  are  so  distinctive  as  to 
identify  the  man  in  the  setting  in  which  he  appears. 

Picture  the  person  portrayed  in  the  following  description  : 

She  was  a  Phantom  of  delight 
When  first  she  gleam'd  upon  my  sight ; 
A  lovely  Apparition,  sent 
To  be  a  moment's  ornament ; 
Her  eyes  as  stars  of  twiHght  fair. 
Like  Twilight's,  too,  her  dusky  hair ; 
But  all  things  else  about  her  drawn 
From  May-time  and  the  cheerful  dawn ; 
A  dancing  shape,  an  image  gay. 
To  haunt,  to  startle,  and  waylay. 

—  S/te  was  a  Phantom  of  Delight^  Wordsworth. 

The  ethereal  beauty  of  the  girl  is  suggested  at  once  in  the 
words,  "  a  phantoyn  of  delight  when  first  she  gleam  d  upon 
my  sight."  Each  detail  of  the  description  is  portrayed  by 
words  which  picture  objects  that  in  themselves  have  ethereal 
beauty :  the  brightness  and  the  color  of  the  eyes  are  sug- 
gested by  picturing  the  eyes  as  "  stars  of  twilight  fair";  the 
color  and  the  texture  of  the  hair  are  pictured  as  dusky  like 
twilight's  ;  the  general  brightness  and  softness  of  coloring  is 
pictured  in  the  words,  ''May-time  and  the  cheerful  dawn'': 
the  lightness  and  etherealness  of  the  figure  are  pictured  in 


$0  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

the  words,   "  a  dancing  shape,  an   image  gay,  to   hamit,  to 
start  ley  and  waylay." 

Portraiture  by  Comparison.  —  This  description  differs  from 
those  already  given  in  the  method  of  portraying  details.  The 
characteristics  of  the  details  are  not  definitely  stated,  but  are 
suggested  by  picturing  objects  which  have  in  the  highest 
degree  the  essential  characteristics  of  the  various  details. 
The  method  used  is  the  method  of  comparison. 

SUMMARY 

To  make  a  word  portrait : 

1.  Realize  the  figure  and  its  chief  impression. 

2.  Imagine  the  person  against  a  background  that  will  emphasize  the 

chief  impression. 

3.  Of  the  details  visible  in  the  pose  chosen,  select  those  which  indi- 

vidualize the  person. 

a.  Decide  upon  those  physical  details  which  must  strike  the  eye 
of  any  observer, 

b.  Decide  upon  those  physical  details  that  betray  character. 

4.  Block  out  the  figure  against  a  background  either  suggested  or 

implied. 
6.   Present  details  in  the  order  in  which  they  strike  the  eye  of  the 
observer. 

a.  Remember  that,  ordinarily,  the  details  of  a  figure  are  seen 
from  head  to  foot. 

b.  Remember  that,  when  there  is  one  conspicuous  feature,  other 
details  are  seen  in  relation  to  that  one. 

6.  Remember  that,  ordinarily,  the  best  picture  is  the  one  given  in  a 
few  broad  strokes  that  deUneate  characteristics  so  marked  as 
to  insure  identification. 

EXERCISE    XV 

Study  the  following  descriptions  : 

A 

.  .  .  the  door  of  the  bedroom  opened,  and  Drysdale  emerged  in  a  loose 
jacket  lined  with  silk,  his  veh'ct  cap  on  his  head,  and  otherwise  gorgeously 
attired.     He  was  a  pleasant-looking  fellow  of  middle  size,  with  dark  hair. 


DESCRIPTION  8l 

and  a  merry  brown  eye,  with  a  twinkle  in  it,  which  spoke  well  for  his  sense 
of  humor ;  otherwise,  his  features  were  rather  plain,  but  he  had  the  look 
and  manners  of  a  thoroughly  well-bred  gentleman. 

—  Tom  Brown  at  Oxford^  HuGHES. 

B 

KThe  candles  lighted  up  Lord  Steyne's  shining  bald  head,  which  was 
fringed  with  red  hair.  He  had  thick  bushy  eyebrows,  with  little  twinkling 
blood-shot  eyes,  surrounded  by  a  thousand  wrinkles.  His  jaw  was  under- 
hung, and  when  he  laughed  two  white  buck-teeth  protruded  themselves  and 
glistened  savagely  in  the  midst  of  the  grin.  ...  A  short  man  was  his  lord- 
ship, broad-chested  and  bow-legged,  but  proud  of  the  fineness  of  his  foot 
and  ankle,  and  always  caressing  his  garter-knee. 

—  Vanity  Fair,  Thackeray. 


He  was  a  sour,  small,  bilious  man,  with  a  long  face  and  very  dark  eyes ; 
fifty-six  years  old,  sound  and  active  in  body,  and  with  an  air  somewhat 
between  that  of  a  shepherd  and  that  of  a  man  following  the  sea. 

—  T/ie  Merry  Men,  Stevenson. 

D 

In  this  moment  of  terror  and  perplexity,  a  human  face,  black,  and  having 
grizzled  hair  hanging  down  over  the  forehead  and  cheeks,  and  mixing  with 
the  mustaches  and  a  beard  of  the  same  color,  and  as  much  matted  and 
tangled,  looked  down  on  them  from  a  broken  part  of  the  rock  above. 

—  Tales  of  my  Landlord,  ScoTT. 


In  another  minute,  a  bouncing  and  scrattling  was  heard  on  the  stairs, 
and  a  white  bulldog  rushed  in,  a  gem  in  his  way ;  for  his  brow  was  broad 
and  massive,  and  wrinkled  about  the  eyes,  his  skin  was  as  fine  as  a  lady's, 
and  his  tail  taper  and  nearly  as  thin  as  a  clay  pipe  ;  but  he  had  a  way  of 
going  ''  snuzzling"  about  the  calves  of  strangers  which  was  not  pleasant  for 
nervous  people.  —  Tom  Brown  at  Oxford,  Hughes. 


The   intruder  stood  in  the  door  —  a  stubby,  grossly  stout  man,  thin- 
legged,  thick-necked,  all  body  and   beard ;  clad  below  in  light  trousers, 


82  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

falling  loose,  however,  over  the  boots  ;  swathed  above  in  an  absurdly  inade- 
quate pea-jacket,  short  in  the  sleeves  and  buttoned  tight  over  a  monstrous 
paunch,  which  labored  (and  that  right  sturdily)  to  burst  the  bonds  of  its 
confinement,  but  succeeded  only  in  creating  a  vast  confusion  of  wrinkles. 
His  attitude  was  that  of  a  man  for  the  moment  amazed  bevond  utterance  : 
his  head  was  thrown  back,  so  that  of  his  face  nothing  was  to  be  seen  but  a 
short,  ragged  growth  of  iron-gray  beard  and  a  ridge  of  bushy  eyebrow ;  his 
hands  were  plunged  deep  in  his  trousers  pockets,  which  the  fists  distended  ; 
his  legs,  the  left  deformed  (being  bent  inward  at  the  knee),  were  spread 
wide.  In  the  shadows  beyond  lurked  a  huge  dog  —  a  mighty,  sullen  beast, 
which  came  stepping  up,  with  lowered  head,  to  peer  at  us  from  between  his 
master's  legs.  — Dr.  Luke  of  the  Labrador,  Duncan. 


Sonya  was  a  slender,  miniature  little  brunette,  with  a  tawny  tinted  com- 
plexion, especially  noticeable  on  her  neck  and  bare  arms,  which  were 
slender,  but  graceful  and  muscular.  She  had  soft  eyes  shaded  by  long 
lashes  and  she  wore  her  thick  black  hair  in  a  braid  twined  twice  about  her 
head.  By  the  easy  grace  of  her  movements,  by  the  suppleness  and  softness 
of  her  slender  limbs,  and  by  a  certain  cunning  and  coyness  of  manner,  she 
reminded  one  of  a  beautiful  kitten  which  promises  soon  to  grow  into  :i 
lovely  cat. — Tolstoi. 

H 

Immediately  there  appeared,  coming  slowly  up  above  the  bulkhead  of 
the  cabin,  another  bulkhead —  human,  and  very  large  —  with  one  stationary 
eye  in  a  mahogany  face,  and  one  revolving  one,  on  the  principle  of  some 
light-houses.  This  head  was  decorated  with  shaggy  hair,  like  oakum, 
which  had  no  governing  inclination  toward  the  north,  east,  west,  or  south, 
but  inclined  to  all  four  quarters  of  the  compass  and  to  every  point  upon  it. 
The  head  was  followed  by  a  perfect  desert  of  chin,  and  by  a  shirt  collar  and 
neckerchief,  and  by  a  dreadnaught  pilot  coat,  and  by  a  pair  of  dreadnaught 
pilot  trousers,  whereof  the  waistband  was  so  very  broad  and  high  that  it 
became  asuccedaneum  for  a  waistcoat,  being  ornamented  near  the  wearer's 
breastbone  with  some  massive  wooden  buttons,  like  backgammon  men. 
As  the  lower  portions  of  these  pantaloons  became  revealed,  Bunsby  stood 
confessed;  his  hands  in  their  pockets,  which  were  of  vast  size,  and  his 
gaze  directed,  not  to  Captain  Cuttle  or  the  ladies,  but  the  masthead. 

—  Dombey  and  Son,  Dickens. 


UESCKIPIION  83 

I 

A  very  stout,  puffy  man  in  buskins  and  Hessian  boots,  with  several  im- 
mense neckcloths  that  rose  almost  to  his  nose,  with  a  red-striped  waistcoat 
and  an  apple-green  coat  with  steel  buttons  almost  as  large  as  crown  pieces, 
was  reading  the  paper  by  the  fire  when  the  two  girls  entered,  and  bounced 
off  his  armchair,  and  blushed  excessively,  and  hid  his  entire  face  almost 
in  his  neckcloths  at  this  apparition.  —  Vanity  Fair.  Thackeray. 


J 

There  is  a  photograph  of  him  .  .  .  which  depicts  a  refined,  gentle, 
dreamy-faced  German  boy,  with  a  soft,  girlish  chin,  small,  arched  lips  with 
a  suggestion  of  dimples  at  the  corners,  and  fine  meditative  eyes.  The  fore- 
head, though  not  broad,  is  of  fair  height  and  fullness.  The  dominant  effect 
of  the  face  is  that  of  sweetness. 

—  The  Vojoie^  Emperor,  Harold  Frederic. 


K 

Those  who  see  the  young  German  Emperor  on  a  state  occasion  think 
of  him  as  almost  a  tall  man,  with  a  stern,  thoughtful  face,  and  the  most 
distinguished  bearing  of  any  sovereign  in  Europe.  He  holds  himself  with 
arrowlike  straightness,  bears  his  uniform  or  robes  with  proud  grace,  and 
draws  his  features  into  a  kind  of  mask  of  imperial  dignity  and  reserved 
wisdom  and  strength  very  impressive  to  the  beholder. 

—  The  Youn^  Emperor,  Harold  Frederic. 


A  little  farther  on,  a  hard-featured  old  man,  with  a  deeply  wrinkled  face, 
was  intently  perusing  a  lengthy  will  with  the  aid  of  a  pair  of  horn  spectacles, 
occasionally  pausing  from  his  task,  and  shyly  noting  down  some  brief  memo- 
randum of  the  bequests  contained  in  it.  Every  wrinkle  about  his  toothless 
mouth  and  sharp  keen  eyes  told  of  avarice  and  cunning.  His  clothes  were 
nearly  threadbare,  but  it  was  easy  to  see  that  he  wore  them  from  choice, 
and  not  from  necessity ;  all  his  looks  and  gestures,  down  to  the  very  small 
pinches  of  snuff  which  he  every  now  and  then  took  from  a  little  tin  canister, 
told  of  wealth,  and  penury,  and  avarice.  —  Sketches  by  Boz,  Dickens. 


§4  PRACTICAL   KxXGLISH   COMPOSITION 

EXERCISE  XVI 
In  each  description : 

1.  Name   the   physical   features   which   would   be   noticed    by   any 

observer. 

2.  Name  the  details  which  depict  the  physical  markings  of  character. 

3.  Give  the  groups  of  words  which  name  instead  of  depicting  char- 

acteristics. 

4.  Account  for  the  selection  and  the  arrangement  of  details. 

5.  Of  the  descriptions,  which  are  sketches  and  which  portraits.'* 

THEME  XII 

1.  Depict  an  approaching  stranger. 

2.  Write  a  word  portrait  of  some  one  whom  you  know  intimately. 

3.  Write  a  description  of  a  person  whom  you  know  who  has  a  strongly 
marked  character. 

4.  Write  a  word  portrait  of  a  pet  animal. 

5.  Write  word  portraits  suggested  by  each  of  the  following  topics  : 

a.  Bob^s  Partner. 

b.  The  Street  Beggar. 

c.  The  Commander. 

•     d.  The  Old-time  Schoolmaster. 

e.  The  Old  Fiddler. 

f.  The  Stray  Dog. 

g.  My  Baby  Brother.  ^ 
h.  My  Chum. 

/.   The  Tramp. 

j.  The  Neighborhood  Torment. 

6.  Criticize  each  of  your  compositions  by  means  of  the  suggestions 
given  in  Exercise  XVI. 

7.  Examine  each  written  composition  carefully  to  see  that  it  is  correct 
as  to  grammar,  punctuation,  and  spelling. 

Scientific,  or  Enumerative,  Description.  —  Scientific,  or  enu- 
merative,  description  is  the  depiction  in  series  of  details  and 
characteristics  of  details  so  distinctive  as  to  make  certain  the 
identification  of  whatever  is  portrayed. 

Whatever  is  perceived  through  the  senses  may  be  material 


DESCRIPTION  85 

for  scientific  description.  The  scientific  descriptions  most 
common,  however,  are  those  which  depict  individuals  of  any 
sort  concerning  which  exact  information  is  required,  and  those 
which  depict  types  of  animals,  plants,  and  rocks,  types  of  their 
products,  such  as  coral,  nests,  fruits,  and  ores,  and  types  of 
manufactured  articles,  such  as  oils,  leathers,  machines,  etc. 

Compare  the  following  descriptions  of  the  same  animal,  a 
badger : 

I ....  as  we  climbed  to  a  higher  level,  the  cry  sounded  close  at  our  feet. 
Just  above  a  ledge,  where  the  rock  had  broken  recently,  a  long,  little,  bear- 
like nose  was  thrust,  and  from  the  open  mouth  beneath  it  sounded  the 
wail  that  had  so  distressed  us. 

Peering  over  the  edge,  we  saw  a  broad,  flat  body,  with  long,  beautiful, 
tawny  hair,  striped  black  and  white.  One  short  foreleg,  its  foot  armed 
with  formidable  claws,  was  braced  against  the  rock  ;  the  other  was  doubled 
beneath  the  tawny  breast.  It  was  easy  to  see  what  had  happened  :  the 
creature  was  wedged  tight  in  a  cleft  of  the  rock  and  held  there  by  a  broken 
stone  that  had  rolled  upon  its  broad,  flat  back.  .   .   . 

2.  The  creature  stirred  a  little  and  moaned  feebly  when  he  was  turned 
out  upon  the  floor,  and  we  got  our  first  good  look  at  him.  He  was  then 
a  little  more  than  half  grown  and  measured  eighteen  or  twenty  inches  from 
nose  to  tail ;  but  he  was  almost  as  broad  as  long,  and  scarcely  six  inches 
high.  His  long,  soft  fur  was  a  tawny  gray,  shading  from  brownish  yellow 
to  white  on  the  under  parts.  Down  his  back  went  a  beautiful  stripe  of 
pure  black,  flanked  by  two  perfectly  white  stripes.  His  head  was  long  and 
pointed,  broad  between  the  short,  erect  ears,  and  tapering  to  an  inquisitive, 
exquisitely  sensitive  black  nose.  His  legs  were  very  short  and  his  feet 
were  armed  with  black  claws,  fully  two  inches  long. 

—  Matthew^  A.  Knapp. 

In  the  first  description  of  the  animal,  an  artistic  description, 
the  details  of  the  animal  which  are  portrayed  are  :  ( i )  "  a  long, 
little,  bear-like  nose ;  "  (2)  **  from  the  open  mouth  beneath  it 
sounded  the  wail ;  "  (3)  "a  broad,  flat  body,  with  long,  beauti- 
ful tawny  hair,  striped  black  and  white  ;  "  (4)  "  one  short  fore- 
leg, its  foot  armed  with  formidable  claws;"  (5)  "the  other 


86  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH    COMPOSITION 

was  doubled  beneath  the  tawny  breast."  These  details  are 
portrayed  in  the  order  in  which  they  catch  the  eye  of  the  ob- 
server from  a  changing  point  of  view  definitely  indicated. 
The  distinctive  details,  the  nose,  the  leg,  and  the  claws,  are 
portrayed  in  words  which  suggest  vividly,  but  which  do  not 
define  exactly. 

In  the  second  description,  which  is  scientific,  or  enumera- 
tive,  the  details  are :  (i)  **  he  was  then  a  little  more  than  half 
grown,  and  measured  eighteen  or  twenty  inches  from  nose  to 
tail ;  but  Ije  was  almost  as  broad  as  long,  and  scarcely  six 
inches  high  ;  "  (2)  **  His  long,  soft  fur  was  a  tawny  gray,  shad- 
ing from  brownish  yellow  to  white  on  the  under  parts ; " 
(3)"  down  his  back  went  a  beautiful  stripe  of  pure  black,  flanked 
by  two  perfectly  white  stripes ;  "  (4)  "  his  head  was  long  and 
pointed,  broad  between  the  short,  erect  ears,  and  tapering  to 
an  inquisitive,  exquisitely  sensitive  black  nose  ;  "  (5)  "  his  legs 
were  very  short  and  his  feet  were  armed  with  black  claws, 
fully  two  inches  long." 

The  first  detail  depicts  the  size  of  the  entire  body,  giving 
two  dimensions  with  exactness.  The  second  detail  depicts  the 
general  appearance  of  the  fur  of  the  entire  body  as  to  length, 
texture,  and  coloring.  The  third  detail  depicts  with  exactness 
as  to  position  and  color  the  markings  of  the  fur  on  the  back. 
The  fourth  detail  portrays,  first,  the  head  as  a  whole,  second, 
two  important  features  of  the  head  by  means  of  distinctive 
characteristics.  The  fifth  detail  depicts  the  legs  by  their  most 
marked  characteristic,  extreme  shortness.  The  sixth  detail 
depicts  the  feet  by  their  most  distinctive  feature,  claws,  which 
are  in  turn  depicted  as  to  length  and  color  with  perfect  exact- 
ness. 

From  the  nature  of  the  details  depicted,  it  is  evident  that 
other  details  which  are  visible  have  been  omitted.  The  de- 
tails that  arc  depicted  show  the  distinctive  features  which  give 


DESCRIPTION  87 

evidence  of  the  animal's  mode  of  life  and  which  are  characteris- 
tic of  the  species  to  which  it  belongs.  The  details  are  pre- 
sented in  three  series :  (i)  the  details  relating  to  size,  (2)  the 
details  relating  to  fur,  and  (3)  the  details  relating  to  structure 
of  the  body.  The  details  of  each  series  depict  first  the  whole 
and  then  the  part. 

From  the  nature  of  the  details  depicted,  from  the  nature  of 
the  details  omitted,  and  from  the  order  in  which  details  are 
presented,  it  is  evident  that  the  details  presented  are  observed 
from  different  points  of  view,  each  detail  being  examined  from 
the  point  of  view  necessary  to  give  the  observer  accurate 
information  concerning  it. 

Scientific  description  differs  from  artistic  description  as  to 
the  choice  and  the  arrangement  of  details,  as  to  the  choice  of 
words  in  which  to  depict  details,  and  as  to  point  of  view. 

In  artistic  description,  the  details  and  characteristics  of 
details  chosen  are  those  which,  seen  from  a  stationary  or 
from  a  changing  point  of  view,  best  reproduce  the  chief  im- 
pression given  by  the  scene.  In  scientific  description,  the 
details  and  characteristics  of  details  chosen  are  those  which 
mark  the  thing  portrayed  as  belonging  to  a  particular  class, 
and  they  are  chosen  regardless  of  point  of  view.  In  ar- 
tistic description,  the  details  must  be  presented  in  the  order 
in  which  they  catch  the  eye  of  the  observer.  In  scientific 
description,  the  details  are  presented  in  series,  the  details 
of  each  series  depicting  from  whole  to  part  whatever  is 
portrayed.  The  series  are  presented  in  the  order  best  cal- 
culated to  give  exact  and  minute  knowledge  of  whatever  is 
described. 

In  artistic  description,  the  words  chosen  are  those  which 
suggest  most  vividly.  In  scientific  description,  the  words 
chosen  are  those  which  state  exactly. 

In  artistic  description,  the  point  of  view  is  either  a  station- 


88  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

ary  or  a  changing  point  of  view,  each  change  in  which  is  either 
stated  or  implied.  In  scientific  description,  there  is  neither 
a  stationary  point  of  view  nor  a  changing  point  of  view,  the 
changes  in  which  are  stated  or  impHed.  The  details  are  ob- 
served from  any  point  of  view  or  from  as  many  points  of  view 
as  are  requisite  to  give  exact  and  minute  information  concern- 
ing whatever  is  observed. 

EXERCISE   XVII 

Study  the  following  descriptions  : 


761.   Merula  migratoria  (Linn.),  American  Robin 

Adult,  ?nale.  Top  and  sides  of  the  head  black,  a  white  spot  above  the 
eye  ;  rest  of  the  upper  parts  grayish  slate  color ;  margins  of  wings  slightly 
lighter;  tail  black,  the  outer  feathers  with  white  spots  at  their  tips;  throat 
white,  spotted  with  black  ;  rest  of  the  under  parts  rufous  (tipped  with  white 
in  the  fall),  becoming  white  on  the  middle  of  the  lower  belly. 

Adult,  female.  Similar,  but  back  of  head  tipped  with  grayish  ;  back, 
tail,  and  under  parts  lighter. 

Young  in  nestling  plumage.  Back  and  under  parts  spotted  with  black. 
Total  length,  10.00;  wing,  4.96;  tail,  3.87;  bill,  .84. 

Nest,  of  coarse  grasses,  leaves,  rootlets,  etc.,  with  an  inner  wall  of  mud 
and  lining  of  fine  grasses,  most  frequently  in  fruit  or  shade  trees,  five  to 
thirty  feet  up. 

Eggs,  three  to  five,  greenish  blue,  very  rarely  with  brownish  markings, 
1. 14  X  .80. — Birds  of  Eastern  IVorth  A?nerica,  F.  M.  Chapman. 

B 

LOST  —  Small  fox  terrier,  black  head  and  spots  of  tan  over  the  eyes, 
and  wearing  wide  brass-studded  collar  without  name.    Answers  to  ''  Jack." 


FOR  SALE,  in  beautiful  Wedgemere,  one  ten-room  new  house,  finished 
in  oak  and  red  birch,  hot  water  heat ;  granolithic  walks  ;  neighborhood 
the  best ;  three  minutes  electric  or  steam  trains. 


DESCRIPTION  89 

D 

In  a  short  time,  details  of  the  craft  ahead,  hitherto  hidden  by  distance, 
began  to  show.  There  was  no  sign  of  life  aboard ;  her  spars  were  gone, 
with  the  exception  of  the  foremast,  broken  at  the  hounds,  and  she  seemed 
to  be  about  a  thousand  tons  burden,  colored  a  mixed  brown  and  dingy 
gray,  which,  as  they  drew  near,  was  shown  as  the  action  of  iron  rust  on 
black  and  lead-colored  paint.  Here  and  there  were  outlines  of  painted 
ports.  Under  the  stump  of  a  shattered  bowsprit  projected  from  between 
bluff  bows  a  weather-worn  figurehead,  representing  the  god  of  the  sea. 
Above  on  the  bows  were  wooden-stocked  anchors  stowed  inboard,  and  aft 
on  the  quarters  were  iron  davits  with  blocks  intact — but  no  falls.  In  a 
few  of  the  deadeyes  in  the  channels  could  be  seen  frayed  rope  yarns, 
rotten  with  age,  and,  with  the  stump  of  the  foremast,  the  wooden  stocks 
of  the  anchors,  and  the  teakwood  rail,  of  a  bleached  gray  color.  On  the 
round  stern,  as  they  pulled  under  it,  they  spelled,  in  raised  letters,  flecked 
here  and  there  with  discolored  gilt,  the  name,  "Neptune,  of  London." 
Unkempt  and  forsaken,  she  had  come  in  from  the  mysterious  sea  to  tell 
her  story.  —  The  Derelict  Neptune^  Robertson. 


A  Kamtchadal  village  differs  in  some  respects  so  widely  from  an  Ameri- 
can frontier  settlement,  that  it  is  worthy,  perhaps,  of  a  brief  description. 
It  is  situated  generally  on  a  little  elevation  near  the  bank  of  some  river  or 
stream,  surrounded  by  scattered  clumps  of  poplar  and  yellow  birch,  and 
protected  by  high  hills  from  the  cold  northern  winds.  Its  houses,  which 
are  clustered  irregularly  together  near  the  beach,  are  very  low  and  are 
made  of  logs  squared  and  notched  at  the  ends  and  chinked  with  masses 
of  dry  moss.  The  roofs  are  covered  with  a  rough  thatch  of  long  coarse 
grass,  or  with  overlapping  strips  of  tamarack  bark,  and  project  at  the  ends 
and  sides  into  wide  overhanging  eaves.  The  window  frames,  although 
occasionally  glazed,  are  more  frequently  covered  with  an  irregular  patch- 
work of  translucent  fish  bladders,  sewn  together  with  thread  made  of  the 
dried  and  pounded  sinews  of  the  reindeer.  The  doors  are  almost  square, 
and  the  chimneys  are  nothing  but  long  straight  poles,  arranged  in  a  circle 
and  plastered  over  with  clay.  Here  and  there  between  the  houses  stand 
half  a  dozen  curious  architectural  quadrupeds  called  ''  bologans,''  or  fish 
storehouses.  They  are  simply  conical  log  tents,  elevated  from  the  ground 
on  four  posts  to  secure  their  contents  from  the  dogs,  and  resemble  as  much 


QO  PRACTK  AL   ENCLTSH   COMPOSITION 

as  anything  small  haystacks  trying  to  walk  away,  on  four  legs.  High 
square  frames  of  horizontal  poles  stand  beside  every  house,  filled  with 
thousands  of  drying  salmon;  and  "an  ancient  and  fishlike  smell,"  which 
pervades  the  whole  atmosphere,  betrays  the  nature  of  the  Kamtchadals' 
occupation  and  of  the  food  on  which  they  live.  Half  a  dozen  dugout 
canoes  lie  bottom  upward  on  the  sandy  shelving  beach,  covered  with 
large,  neatly  tied  seines;  two  or  three  long,  narrow  dog  sledges  stand  up 
on  their  ends  against  every  house,  and  a  hundred  or  more  sharp-eared 
wolfish  dogs,  tied  at  intervals  to  long  heavy  poles,  lie  panting  in  the  sun, 
snapping  viciously  at  the  flies  and  mosquitoes  which  disturb  their  rest. 
In  the  center  of  the  village,  facing  the  west,  stands,  in  all  the  glory  of 
Kamtchatko-Byzantine  architecture,  red  paint,  and  glittering  domes,  the 
omnipresent  Greek  church,  contrasting  strangely  with  the  rude  log  houses 
and  conical  ''bologans"  over  which  it  extends  the  spiritual  protection  of 
its  resplendent  golden  cross.  It  is  built  generally  of  carefully  hewn  logs, 
painted  a  deep  brick  red,  covered  with  a  green  sheet-iron  roof,  and  sur- 
mounted by  two  onion-shaped  domes  of  tin,  which  are  sometimes  colored 
a  sky-blue  and  spangled  with  golden  stars.  Standing  with  all  its  glaring 
contrasts  of  color  among  a  few  unpainted  log  houses  in  a  primitive  wilder- 
ness, it  has  a  strange  picturesque  appearance  not  easily  described.  If  you 
can  imagine  a  rough  American  backwoods"  settlement  of  low  log  houses, 
clustered  round  a  gayly  colored  Turkish  mosque,  half  a  dozen  small  hay- 
stacks mounted  on  high  vertical  posts,  fifteen  or  twenty  Titanic  wooden 
gridirons  similarly  elevated  and  hung  full  of  drying  fish,  a  few  dog  sledges 
and  canoes  lying  carelessly  around,  and  a  hundred  or  more  gray  wolves 
tied  here  and  there  between  the  houses  to  long  heavy  poles,  you  will  have 
a  general  but  tolerably  accurate  idea  of  a  Kamtchadal  settlement  of  the 
better  class.  They  differ  somewhat  in  respect  to  their  size  and  their 
churches  ;  but  the  gray  log  houses,  conical  •*  bologans,"  drying  fish,  wolf- 
ish dogs,  canoes,  sledges,  and  fishy  odors  are  all  invariable  features. 

—  Tent  Life  in  Siberia.,  Kennan. 

In  each  description  : 

a.  Tell  the  purpose  of  the  description.  ' 

b.  Name  the  details  portrayed. 

c.  State  the  kind  of  characteristics  portrayed. 


^ 


THEME   XIII 


I.    Write  an  artistic  description  of  a  pet  animal  in  a  characteristic  pose 
against  a  customary  background. 


DESCRIPTION  91 

2.    Using  the  same  animal  as  a  model,  write  a  scientific  description  of 
the  species  to  which  the  animal  belongs. 
]  3.    Write  an  advertisement  of  the  same  animal  as  lost. 
>         a.   In  what  way  and  for  what  reason  do  the  choice  and  the  arrange- 
ment of  details  differ  in  your  three  compositions  ? 

4.  Choosing,  if  possible,  from  the  following  list,  write  a  scientific 
description  of  each  of  two  objects  that  should  be  familiar  to  your 
class : 

a.  The  drum  major. 

b.  The  dachshund,  the  wolfhound,  the  broncho. 

c.  The  passenger  train. 

d.  The  hand  car. 

e.  The  rocking-chair. 

f.  The  freighter. 

g.  The  properly  furnished  dining  room. 
//.  The  grain  elevator. 

/.    The  window  box. 
/.    The  weather  vane. 

5.  Read  to  your  class  each  of  your  compositions,  withholding  in  each 
case  the  name  of  the  thing  described. 

a.    Did  the  class  recognize  the  thing  described.''     If  not.  what  was 
wrong  with  your  choice  or  arrangement  of  characteristics? 

6.  Rewrite  either  composition  that  was  faulty,  making  the  corrections 
suggested  by  the  class. 

7.  Examine  your  corrected  theme  to  see  that  every  sentence  is  gram- 
matical, that  the  theme  is  properly  punctuated,  and  that  there  are  no  mis- 
spelled words. 

In  each  of  your  compositions: 

a.  Which  of  the  details  that  you  have  used  are  characteristic  of  each 

individual  of  the  class  ? 

b.  In  what  way  does  each  of  these  details  indicate  the  habits  or  the 

use  of  the  thing  described? 

General  Description. —  Description  sometimes  takes  a  form 
which  is  in  some  respects  like  artistic  description,  and  in 
some  respects  like  scientific  description. 

Read  the  following  description  : 

The  villages  are  straggling,  queer,  old-fashioned  places,  the  houses 
being  dropped  down  without  the  least  regularity,  in  nooks  and  out-of-the 


92  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

way  corners  by  the  side  of  shadowy  lanes  and  footpaths,  each  with  its 
patch  of  garden.  They  are  built  chiefly  of  good  gray  stone,  and  thatched. 
.  .  .  There  are  lots  of  waste  ground  by  the  side  of  the  road  in  every  vil- 
\dg%  amounting  often  to  village  greens,  where  feed  the  pigs  and  ganders  of 
the  people ;  and  these  roads  are  old-fashioned  homely  roads,  very  dirty  and 
badly  made,  and  hardly  endurable  in  winter,  but  still  pleasant  jog-trot  roads, 
running  through  the  great  pasture  lands,  dotted  here  and  there  with  little 
clumps  of  thorns,  where  the  sleek  kine  are  feeding,  with  no  fence  on  either 
side  of  them,  and  a  gate  at  the  end  of  each  field. 

—  Tom  Brown's  School  Days ^  Hughes. 

This  description  is  like  artistic  description  in  that  the  details 
used  are  those  which  could  be  seen  from  a  fixed  or  from  a 
moving  point  of  view,  and  in  that  the  order  in  which  the 
details  are  presented  is  the  order  in  which  they  would  be 
perceived  from  a  fixed  or  from  a  moving  point  of  view. 
It  is  like  scientific  description  in  that  the  details  used  are 
those  common  to  all  of  the  villages  of  the  countryside,  and 
in  that  the  main  purpose  of  the  description  is  the  giving  of 
information  concerning  the  kind  of  life  common  to  all  the 
villages.  Description  of  this  sort  is  called  general  descrip- 
tion. 

A  general  description  is  a  description  which  presents  in 
the  order  in  which  they  could  be  seen  from  a  stationary  or 
from  a  moving  point  of  view  the  details  and  the  characteris- 
tics of  details  common  to  a  class  of  objects. 

THEME  XIV 

1.  Write  a  general  description  of  the  classrooms  in  your  building. 

2.  Write  a  general  description  of  the  churches  of  your  district. 

3.  Write  a  general  description  of  the  parks  of  your  district  or  of  the 
farms  of  your  district. 

a.  In  what  way  is  each  of  your  general  descriptions  like  artistic  de- 

scription? 

b.  In  what  way  is  each  of  your  general  descriptions  like  scientific 

description  ? 


DESCRIPTION 


93 


ADDITIONAL    SUBJECTS   FOR   ORAL    OR   WRITTEN    DESCRIPTION 


I. 

My  Favorite  Room. 

39- 

The  Waiting-room  at  a  Terml 

2. 

A  Squall. 

X 

nal  Station. 

3- 

A  Local  Character. 

40. 

The  Board  Walk. 

4- 

The  Audience  at  a  Track-meet. 

41. 

The  Easter  Display. 

5- 

A  Quaker  Village. 

42. 

The  Horse-show. 

6. 

The  Passing  Crowd. 

43- 

iMy  Fellow-passengers. 

7- 

The  Antique  Shop. 

44. 

The  House-tops  of  the  Town. 

8. 

The  Forsaken  Hut. 

45- 

The  Hillside. 

9- 

The  Lumber  Camp. 

46. 

A  Wonderful  Spectacle. 

lO. 

The  Aquarium. 

47. 

A  Cheerful  Stove. 

II. 

The  Stage-coach. 

48. 

The  Orchard  in  May. 

12. 

The  Ruin. 

49. 

The  Snow  Man. 

13- 

The  Soldiers'  Home. 

50. 

My  Easy-chair. 

14. 

Farmer  Jones. 

51- 

The  Busy  Wharf. 

15- 

The  Tornado. 

52. 

The     Docking     of    an    Ocear 

16. 

The  Country  Store. 

Liner. 

17- 

Our  Attic. 

ly 

The  Skating  Field. 

18. 

The  Drill. 

54- 

The  New  Subway. 

19. 

The  Wreck. 

55- 

The  Aurora  Borealis. 

20. 

A  Brilliant  Sunset. 

56. 

The  Harbor  at  Night. 

21. 

The  Statue  of  Liberty. 

57- 

The  Coal  Mine. 

22. 

An  Ocean  Liner. 

58. 

The  Lookout. 

23- 

A  View  from  an  Aeroplane. 

59- 

The  Mill  Village. 

24. 

A  Spring  Flood. 

60. 

The  Blue  Ribbon  Dog. 

25. 

Waiting  for  the  Signal. 

61. 

The  Headland 

26. 

Our  Signal. 

62. 

My  Yacht. 

27. 

The  Tower  Clock. 

63- 

A  Quiet  Nook. 

28. 

The  Old  Boat  on  the  Beach. 

64. 

The  Midnight  Express. 

29. 

Our  Bungalow. 

65. 

The  View  from  my  Window. 

30. 

The  Old  Fiddler. 

66. 

The  Waterfront. 

31- 

The  Old  Cemetery. 

67. 

The  Old  Jail. 

32. 

A  Gypsy  Camp. 

68. 

The  Mountain  Stream. 

33- 

The  Light-house  Keeper. 

69. 

The  Charming  Old  Lady. 

34. 

The  Forest  in  Winter. 

70. 

An  Iceberg. 

35- 

The  Circus  Grounds. 

71- 

A  Little  Urchin. 

36. 

The  Runaway. 

72. 

My  Lucky  Piece. 

11- 

The  Snow  Fight. 

73- 

The  Golf  Links. 

The  Promenade. 

74. 

The  Forest  Fire. 

/ 


CHAPTER   IV 
NARRATION 


Narration  is  the  kind  of  speech  or  of  writing  that  recounts 
occurrences  in  sequence.  Any  happening  of  any  sort,  or 
any  series  of  happenings,  real  or  imagined,  may  be  material 
for  narration. 

A  narrative  may  recount  events  as  they  actually  happened 
in  the  life  of  a  Hving  being ;  i.e.,  it  may  be  biography.  It 
may  recount  events  as  they  actually  happened  in  the  life  of 
a  nation  or  of  a  people ;  i.e.,  it  may  be  history.  It  may 
recount  events  typical  of  life  as  it  is ;  i.e.,  it  may  be  realistic 
fiction.  It  may  recount  events  as  they  are  presumed  to  take 
place  in  an  imaginary  world ;  i.e.,  it  may  be  romantic  or 
idealistic  fiction. 
►z.  Realistic  fiction  includes  most  novels  and  short  stories. 
Romantic  or  idealistic  fiction  includes  romances,  fairy  tales, 
allegories,  fables,  and  parables. 

The  purpose  of  a  narrative  may  be  to  give  information,  as 

in  biography  and  history ;  it  may  be  merely  to  entertain,  as 
in  most  short  stories  and  many  novels ;  or  it  may  be  to 
illustrate  a  point  or  to  teach  some  lesson,  as  in  the  "  problem 
novel,"  allegories,  fables,  and  parables. 

The  Development  of  a  Narrative.  —  Whatever  the  nature 
or  the  purpose  of  a  narrative,  the  occurrences  must  be  so  re- 
counted as  to  culminate  in  a  point  which  in  itself  has  interest 
or  value.  Read  the  following  narrative,  noting  the  point  and 
the  chief  impression  and  the  way  in  which  they  are  made: 

In  the  hottest  days  of  last  summer  there  appeared  in  the  city  of  the 
Straits  one  of  those  wandering  rehgious  fanatics  whom  the  Italians  call 

94 


NARRATION  95 

'•  Nazarenes ,"  a  bare-headed,  half-starved,  wild-eyed  man,  dressed  in  a 
sort  of  hermit's  frock  that  did  not  reach  his  sandaled  feet.  A  boy  of  twelve 
or  fourteen  walked  beside  him,  dressed  in  the  same  way,  but  with  a  shorter 
frock  that  showed  his  bare  legs,  and  he  carried  a  cowbell  in  one  hand  and 
a  stick  in  the  other.  '  From  time  to  time  the  two  stopped,  always  at  the 
busiest  corners,  and  tlie  boy  rang  his  bell,  as  the  public  criers  still  do  in  old 
Italian  towns,  unless  they  are  provided  with  a  bugle  horn  instead.  A  few 
grown  people  and  many  idle  lads  and  youths  stopped  at  the  sound  to  see 
what  would  happen.  Then  the  "Nazarene"  lifted  up  his  voice,  shrill  and 
clear,  to  utter  his  prophecy,  and  his  wild  eyes  were  suddenly  still  and 
looked  upward,  fixed  on  the  high  houses  opposite ;  and  this  was  what  he 
cried  out : 

"  Be  warned,  take  heed  and  repent,  ye  of  Messina  !  This  year  shall  not 
end  before  your  city  is  utterly  destroyed  !  " 

But  they  who  were  to  perish  laughed  and  jeered  at  the  "  Nazarene  "  and 
went  about  their  business,  while  he  and  his  young  companion  proceeded 
on  their  way ;  and  the  street  boys  howled  at  them  and  pelted  them  with 
bits  of  orange  peel  and  peach  stones ;  but  they  passed  on  unheeding  and 
unflinching  as  if  accomplishing  a  mission  intrusted  to  them  as  a  sacred 
duty.  —  Outlook,  Crawford. 

The  Selection  of  Details.  —  The  point  or  culmination  of  the 
narrative  is  the  prophetic  warning  of  Messina  by  the  Naza- 
rene. It  is  brought  out  in  five  incidents :  (i)  the  appearance 
of  the  Nazarene  and  his  companion ;  (2)  the  stopping  of 
the  two  at  the  busiest  corners  and  the  ringing  of  the  bell ; 
(3)  the  stopping  of  passers-by  to  listen  ;  (4)  the  uttering  of 
the  prophetic  warning;  and  (5)  the  contemptuous  rejection  of 
the  Nazarene's  warning  and  the  passing  on  of  the  Nazarene 
and  his  companion. 

The  Development  of  Details.  —  Each  incident  is  developed 
by  particulars  essential  to  a  clear  understanding  of  the  point. 
The  first  incident  suggests  the  time  of  the  event,  names  the 
place  in  which  the  event  occurred,  and  introduces,  first,  the 
chief  actor  and,  then,  his  companion.  The  second  incident 
tells  what  the  two  did  to  srain  the  attention  of  an  audience. 
The  third  shows  the  kind  of  audience  that  they  attracted. 


96  PR.\CTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

The  fourth  is  the  uttering  of  the  prophetic  warning.  The 
fifth  gives  the  result  of  the  warning. 

The  Chief  Impression. —  Each  incident,  also,  by  at  least  one 
particular  helps  to  produce  the  chief  impression  given  by  the 
narrative,  the  strangeness  of  the  event.  The  first  incident 
gives  the  oddity  of  appearance  of  the  chief  actor  and  his 
companion.  The  second  incident  suggests  the  unusualness 
of  the  action  by  which  the  two  gained  the  attention  of  an 
audience.  The  third  depicts  the  kind  of  audience  attracted 
by  a  strange  action.  The  fourth  recounts  the  peculiar 
prophetic  warning.  The  fifth  emphasizes  the  peculiarity  of 
the  warning  by  recounting  its  effect  upon  the  crowd. 

Each  incident  of  the  narrative,  therefore,  is  developed  by 
particulars  which  are  essential  to  a  clear  understanding  of 
the  point  or  culmination,  and  which  help  to  produce  one 
chief  impression. 

The  Order  of  Details.  —  The  order  in  which  the  incidents 
are  recounted  is  the  order  in  which  they  occurred.  Each 
additional  incident  both  advances  the  story  in  time  and 
emphasizes  the  chief  impression. 

The  Point  of  View  of  a  Bystander.  —  The  event  is  re- 
counted as  if  seen  by  a  bystander  on  the  streets  of  the  city. 
Each  incident  is  developed  by  means  of  particulars  that  would 
catch  the  attention  of  a  bystander.  No  particular  which 
could  not  be  perceived  by  a  bystander  is  introduced.  The 
story  is  told,  therefore,  from  the  point  of  view  of  a  bystander. 

Summary. —  A  narrative  should  be  recounted  by  means  of 
particulars  which  bring  out  the  point  or  culmination,  and 
which  suggest  the  chief  impression.  Ordinarily,  particulars 
are  recounted  in  the  order  in  which  they  occur.  When  a 
narrative  is  told  from  the  point  of  view  of  a  bystander,  only 
such  particulars  may  be  used  as  would  catch  the  attention  of 
a  bystander. 


NARRATION  97 

THEME  I 

1.  Write  an  account  of  an  amusing  event  which  you  have  seen  happen. 

2.  Write  an  account  of  the  most  exciting  event  which  you  have  seen 
happen. 

3.  Write  an  account  of  the  oddest  event  which  you  have  seen  happen. 
a.    In  each  of  your  narratives  : 

(i)  What  is  the  point? 

(2)  By  what  incidents  have  you  developed  it? 

(3)  Which  incident  contains  the  point? 

(4)  What  does  each  incident  contribute  to  the  clear  understand- 

ing of  the  point? 

(5)  In  what  way  does  each  incident  suggest  the  chief  impression  ? 

b.  Read  over  each  of  your  compositions  to  see  that  the  story  is  told 

clearly. 

c.  Examine  each  theme  a  second  time  to  see  that  the  grammar, 

the  punctuation,  and  the  spelling  are  correct. 

The  Point  of  View  in  Narration. —  The  point  of  view  from 
which  a  narrative  is  told  is  not  always  that  of  a  bystander. 
Read  the  following  selection  : 

Just  after  sundown,  when  all  my  work  was  over  and  I  was  on  my  way 
to  my  berth,  it  occurred  to  me  that  I  should  like  an  apple.  I  ran  on  deck. 
The  watch  was  all  forward  looking  out  for  the  island.  The  man  at  the 
helm  was  watching  the  luff  of  the  sail  and  whistling  away  gently  to  him- 
self; and  that  was  the  only  sound  excepting  the  swish  of  the  sea  against 
the  bows  and  around  the  side  of  the  ship. 

In  I  got  bodily  into  the  apple  barrel  and  found  there  w-as  scarce  an 
apple  left ;  but,  sitting  down  there  in  the  dark,  what  with  the  sound  of 
the  waters  and  the  rocking  movement  of  the  ship,  I  had  either  fallen 
asleep,  or  was  on  the  point  of  doing  so,  when  a  heavy  man  sat  down  with 
rather  a  clash  close  by.  The  barrel  shook  as  he  leaned  his  shoulders 
against  it,  and  I  was  just  about  to  jump  up  when  the  man  began  to  speak. 
It  was  Silver's  voice,  and,  before  I  had  heard  a  dozen  words,  I  would  not 
have  shown  myself  for  all  the  world,  but  lay  there,  trembling  and  listening, 
in  the  extreme  of  fear  and  curiosity;  for  from  these  dozen  words  I  under- 
stood that  the  lives  of  all  the  honest  men  aboard  depended  upon  me  alone. 

—  Treasure  Island^  Stevenson. 


yS  PR.\CT1CAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

The  Point  of  View  of  an  Actor  in  the  Events.  —  The  point 
of  view  from  which  the  story  is  told  is  that  of  the  chief  actor. 
The  particulars  which  are  recounted  are  those  important  to 
the  chief  actor  in  the  various  situations  in  which  he  finds 
himself.  No  particular  is  recounted  which  could  not  be  per- 
ceived by  the  chief  actor.  Each  particular  is  introduced  into 
the  story  at  the  point  at  which  the  chief  actor  becomes  con- 
scious of  it.  Every  particular  recounted  bears  directly  on  the 
point  and  is  essential  to  the  point.  The  first  sentence  gives 
the  time,  the  occasion,  and  the  place  of  the  event,  introduces 
the  chief  actor,  and  states  his  motive.  The  second  sentence 
recounts  the  action  which  takes  the  chief  actor  to  the  place 
which  is  to  be  the  scene  of  real  interest.  The  third  and 
fourth  sentences  depict  the  watch  and  the  helmsman  as  in 
positions  where  they  would  neither  see  nor  hear  the  chief 
actor,  and  suggest  the  quietness  of  the  ship.  The  fifth  sen- 
tence recounts  the  action  that  takes  the  chief  actor  into  the 
situation  which  makes  the  overhearing  of  Silver  possible. 
The  last  two  sentences  develop  the  situation  which  is  the 
point  of  the  event;  i.e.,  the  hearing  of  the  dozen  words  which 
Silver  spoke,  and  state  the  result  of  these  words;  i.e.^  the 
determination  of  the  chief  actor  to  remain  and  listen. 

All  of  the  particulars  but  four  recount  actions  essential  to 
the  working  out  of  the  point.  The  four  particulars  which  do 
not  recount  actions  establish  conditions  which  make  the  event 
possible.  The  actions  are  recounted  in  the  order  of  their  oc- 
currence. Each  condition  is  suggested  at  that  moment  in  the 
story  at  which  it  is  perceived  by  the  chief  actor. 

Summary.  —  When  a  narrative  is  told  from  the  point  of 
view  of  an  actor  in  the  story,  only  such  particulars  may  be 
recounted  as  could  be  known  by  the  actor  who  tells  the  story. 
An  actor  in  a  story  may  recount  whatever  he  sees  or  hears, 
his  own  actions,  his  own  thoughts,  and  his  own  feelings. 


NARRATION  99 

EXERCISE  I 
Read  carefully  each  of  the  following  selections  : 


...  a  door  opened  softly  above,  and  a  small  figure  stole  out  into 
the  dark  hall.  After  listening  a  moment,  this  little  figure  went  silentlv 
down  the  stairs,  paused  at  the  line  of  light  underneath  the  closed  study 
door,  listened  again,  and  then,  convinced  that  all  was  safe,  went  into  the 
sitting  room,  took  down  the  stockings  one  by  one,  and  deliberately 
inspected  all  their  contents,  sitting  on  a  low  stool  before  the  fire.  First 
came  the  stockings  of  the  boys  ;  each  parcel  was  unrolled,  down  to  the 
last  gingerbread  camel,  and  as  deftly  enwrapped  again  by  the  skillful  little 
fingers.  During  this  examination  there  was  not  so  much  an  expression  of 
interest  as  of  jealous  scrutiny.  But  when  the  turn  of  her  own  stocking 
came,  the  small  face  showed  the  most  profound,  almost  weazened,  solici- 
tude. Package  after  package  was  swiftly  opened  and  its  contents  spread 
upon  the  mat  beside  her.  The  doll  was  cast  aside  with  contempt,  the 
slippers  examined  and  tried  on  with  critical  care,  and  then  when  the  candy 
and  cake  appeared  and  nothing  else,  the  eyes  snapped  with  anger. 

The  little  brown  hand  felt  down  to  the  toe  of  the  stocking  ;  no,  there 
was  nothing  more.  "  It  is  my  opinion,"  said  Tita,  in  her  French  island 
patois^  half  aloud,  "  that  Annette  is  one  stupid  beast." 

She  then  replaced  everything,  hung  the  stockings  on  their  nails,  and 
stole  back  to  her  own  room  ;  here,  by  the  light  of  a  secreted  candle  end, 
she  manufactured  the  following  epistle,  with  heavy  labor  of  brains  and 
hand  :  "  Cher  papa,  —  I  hav  dreemed  that  Sant  Klos  has  hare-ribbans  in 
his  pak.  Will  you  ask  him  for  sum  for  your  little  Tita  .''  "  This  not  seem- 
ing sufficiently  expressive,  she  inserted  '^  trez  affecsionay  "  before  "Tita."' 
and  then,  folding  the  epistle,  she  went  softlv  down  the  stairs  again,  and 
stealing  round  in  the  darkness  through  several  unused  rooms,  she  entered 
her  father's  bedroom,  which  communicated  with  the  study,  and  by  sense  of 
feeling  pinned  the  paper  carefully  round  his  large  pipe  which  lay  in  its 
usual  place  on  the  table.  For  William  Douglas  always  began  smoking  as 
soon  as  he  rose.  .  .  .  Having  accomplished  her  little  maneuver,  Tita 
went  back  upstairs  to  her  own  room  like  a  small  white  ghost,  and  fell 
asleep  with  the  satisfaction  of  a  successful  diplomatist. 

—  Anne,  Woolson. 


lOO  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

B 

"Now,  John,  give  us  a  sample  of  the  things  they  tell  of  thee.  Take 
the  biggest  of  them  sledge  hammers  and  crack  this  rogue  in  two  for  us. 
We  have  tried  at  him  for  a  fortnight,  and  he  is  a  nut  worth  cracking.  But 
we  have  no  man  who  can  swing  that  hammer,  though  all  in  the  mine  have 
handled  it." 

"  I  will  do  my  best,"  said  I,  pulling  off  my  coat  and  waistcoat  as  if  I 
were  going  to  wrestle  ;  "  but  I  fear  he  will  prove  too  tough  for  me." 

"  Ay,  that  her  wull,"  grunted  Master  Carfax, '-  lack'th  a  Carnishman,  and 
a  beg  one  too,  not  a  little  charp  such  as  I  be.  There  be  no  man  outside 
Carnwall  as  can  crack  that  boolder." 

"  Bless  my  heart,"  I  answered,  "but  I  know  something  of  you,  my  friend, 
or  at  any  rate  of  your  family.  Well,  I  have  beaten  most  of  your  Cornish- 
men,  though  not  my  place  to  talk  of  it.  But  mind,  if  I  crack  this  rock  for 
you,  I  must  have  some  of  the  gold  inside  it." 

"  Dost  think  to  see  the  gold  come  tumbling  out  like  the  kernel  of  a  nut, 
thou  zany  ?  "  asked  Uncle  Reuben,  pettishly  ;  "  now  wilt  thou  crack  it  or 
wilt  thou  not  ?  For  I  believe  thou  canst  do  it,  though  only  a  lad  of 
Somerset." 

Uncle  Reuben  showed  by  saying  this  and  by  his  glance  at  Carfax  that 
he  was  proud  of  his  county  and  would  be  disappointed  for  it,  if  I  failed  to 
crack  the  bowlder.  So  I  begged  him  to  stoop  his  torch  a  little,  that  I 
might  examine  my  subject.  To  me  there  appeared  to  be  nothing  at  all 
remarkable  about  it  except  that  it  sparkled  here  and  there  when  the  flash 
of  the  flame  fell  upon  it.  A  great,  obstinate,  oblong,  sullen  stone :  how 
could  it  be  worth  the  breaking  except  for  making  roads  with.-* 

Nevertheless,  I  took  up  the  hammer,  and,  swinging  it  far  behind  my 
head,  fetched  it  down,  with  all  my  power,  upon  the  middle  of  the  rock. 
The  roof  rang  mightily,  and  the  echo  went  down  delven  galleries,  so  that 
all  the  miners  flocked  to  know  what  might  be  doing.  But  Master  Carfax 
only  smiled,  although  the  blow  shook  him  where  he  stood  ;  for  behold,  the 
stone  was  still  unbroken  and  as  firm  as  ever.  Then  I  smote  it  again  with 
no  better  fortune,  and  Uncle  Ben  looked  vexed  and  angry;  but  all  the 
miners  grinned  with  triumph. 

"  This  little  tool  is  too  light,"  I  cried  ;  "  one  of  you  give  me  a  piece  of 
strong  cord." 

Then  I  took  two  more  of  the  weightiest  hammers  and  lashed  them  fast 
to  the  back  of  mine,  not  so  as  to  strike,  but  to  burden  the  fall.  Having 
made  this  firm,  and  with  room  to  grasp  the  handle  for  the  largest  one  only 


NARRATION  loi 

—  for  the  helves  of  the  others  were  shorter  —  l  smiled  at  Uncle  Ben,  and 
whirled  the  mighty  implement  round  my  head,  just  to  try  whether  I  could 
manage  it.  Upon  that  the  miners  gave  a  cheer,  being  honest  men  and 
desirous  of  seeing  fair  play  between  this  "  shameless  stone"  (as  Dan  Homer 
calls  it)  and  me  with  my  hammer  hammering. 

Then  I  swung  me  on  high  to  the  swing  of  the  sledge,  as  a  thresher 
bends  back  to  the  rise  of  his  flail,  and  with  all  my  power  descending,  deliv- 
ered the  ponderous  onset.  Crashing  and  crushed,  the  great  stone  fell  over, 
and  threads  of  sparkling  gold  appeared  in  the  jagged  sides  of  the  break- 
age. 

''How  now,  Simon  Carfax  ?"  cried  Uncle  Ben,  triumphantly;  "'wilt 
thou  find  a  man  in  Cornwall  can  do  the  like  of  that  ? '' 

"  Ay,  and  more,''  he  answered.  "  However,  it  is  pretty  fair  for  a  lad  of 
these  outiandish  parts.''  —  Lorna  Doone,  Blackmore. 

In  each  selection : 

1.  State  the  point,  or  culmination,  and  the  chief  impression  of  the 

story. 

2.  Name  the  chief  actor  and  tell  where  in  the  story  the  chief  actor  is 

introduced. 

3.  State  the  motive  of  the  chief  actor  and  tell  at  what  point  of  the 

story  the  motive  is  made  evident. 

4.  State  the  main  steps  which  lead  to  the  point. 

5.  Give  the  particulars  by  which  any  one  of  these  steps  is  recounted. 

a.  Name  the  particulars  which  recount  actions. 

b.  Name  the  particulars  which  establish  conditions. 

6.  State  the  point  of  view  from  which  the  story  is  told. 

THEME  II 

^i.    Narrate  an   incident   from  your  own  life  in  which  an  unexpected 
occurrence  befell  you. 

2.    Recount   the  maneuvering  of   a  person  or  of  an  animal  that   you 
have  watched  trying  to  gain  an  end  hiddenly. 
3.    Recount  your  own  maneuvers  to  accomplish  a  purpose. 

In  each  of  your  narratives  : 

a.  What  is  the  point  ? 

b.  What  is  the  chief  impression? 

c.  What  motive  starts  the  series  of  actions? 

d.  What  particulars  lead  to  the  point  ? 


I02  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

e.   Which  of  the  particulars  recount  actions? 

f.  Which  of  the  particulars  establish  conditions? 

g.  Have  you  introduced  any  particular  which  could  not  have  been 

known  by  the  narrator  at  the  moment  when  the  particular  is 
introduced  into  the  story? 

The    point    of   view    from   which   a  story   is  told  may  bo 
neither  that  of  a  bystander  nor  that  of  an  actor  in  the  events. 
Read  the  following  selection : 

As  the  sun  declined,  Gerard's  heart  too  sank  and  sank :  with  the  waning 
light  even  the  embers  of  hope  went  out.  He  was  faint,  too,  with  hunger; 
for  he  was  afraid  to  ea.t  the  food  Ghysbrecht  had  brought  him  ;  and  hunger 
alone  cows  men.  He  sat  upon  the  chest,  his  arms  and  his  head  drooping 
before  him,  a  picture  of  despondency.  Suddenly  something  struck  the  wall 
beyond  him  very  sharply  and  then  rattled  on  the  floor  at  his  feet.  It  was  an 
arrow;  he  saw  the  white  feather.  A  chill  ran  through  him — they  meant 
then  to  assassinate  him  from  the  outside.  He  crouched.  No  more  mi.s- 
siles  came.  He  crawlea  on  all  fours  and  took  up  the  arrow  ;  there  was  no 
head  to  it.  He  uttered  a  cry  of  hope  :  had  a  friendly  hand  shot  it  ?  He 
took  it  up  and  felt  it  all  over ;  he  felt  a  soft  substance  attached  to  it.  Then 
one  of  his  eccentricities  was  of  grand  use  to  him.  His  tinder  box  enabled 
him  to  strike  a  light ;  it  showed  him  two  things  that  made  his  heart  bound 
with  delight,  none  the  less  thrilling  for  being  somewhat  vague.  Attached 
to  the  arrow  was  a  skein  of  silk,  and  on  the  arrow  itself  were  words 
written. 

How  his  eyes  devoured  them,  his  heart  panting  the  while! 

Well-beloved^  )nake  fast  the  silk  to  thy  knife  and  lower  to  us ;  but  hold 
thine  end  fast ;  then  count  an  Jiundred  and  draw  up. 

Gerard  seized  the  oek  chest,  and  with  almost  superhuman  energy 
dragged  it  to  the  window ;  a  moment  ago  he  could  not  have  moved  it. 
Standing  on  the  chest  and  looking  down,  he  saw  figures  at  the  tower  foot. 
They  were  so  indistinct  they  looked  like  one  huge  form.  He  waved  his 
bonnet  to  them  with  trembling  hand ;  then  he  undid  the  silk  rapidly  but 
carefully,  and  made  one  end  fast  to  his  knife  and  lowered  it  till  it  ceased 
to  draw.  Then  he  counted  a  hundred.  Then  he  pulled  the  silk  carefully 
up ;  it  came  up  a  little  heavier.  At  last,  he  came  to  a  large  knot,  and  by 
that  knot  a  stout  whipcord  was  attached  to  the  silk.  What  could  this 
mean?     While  he  was  puzzling  himself.  Margaret's  voice  came  up  to  him, 


'-» 


NARRATION 


TO3 


low  but  clear:  "Draw  up,  Gerard,  till  you  see  liberty.'"  At  the  word 
Gerard  drew  the  whipcord  line  up,  and  drew  and  drew  till  he  came  to 
another  knot,  and  found  a  cord  of  some  thickness  take  the  place  of  the 
whipcord.  He  had  no  sooner  begun  to  draw  this  up  than  he  found  that 
he  now  had  a  heavy  weight  to  deal  with.  Then  the  truth  suddenly  flashed 
on  him,  and  he  went  to  work  and  pulled  and  pulled  till  the  perspiration 
rolled  down  him  ;  the  weight  got  heavier  and  heavier  and  at  last  he  was 
w^ll-nigh  exhausted  ;  looking  down,  he  saw  in  the  moonlight  a  sight  that 
revived  him  :  it  was  as  it  were  a  great  snake  coming  up  to  him  out  of  the 
deep  shadow  cast  by  the  tower.  He  gave  a  shout  of  joy,  and  a  score  more 
wild  pulls,  and  lo!  a  stout  new  rope  touched  his  hand;  he  hauled  and 
hauled,  and  dragged  the  end  into  his  prison,  and  instantly  passed  it 
through  both  handles  of  the  chest  in  succession  and  knotted  it  firmly; 
then  sat  for  a  moment  to  recover  his  breath  and  collect  his  courage.  The 
first  thing  was  to  make  sure  that  the  chest  was  sound  and  capable  of 
resisting  his  weight  poised  in  mid-air.  He  jumped  with  all  his  force  upon 
it.  At  the  third  jump  the  whole  side  burst  open  and  out  scuttled  the 
contents,  a  host  of  parchments. 

After  the  first  start  and  misgiving  this  gave  him,  Gerard  comprehended 
that  the  chest  had  not  burst  but  opened :  he  had  doubtless  jumped  upon 
some  secret  spring.  Still  it  shook  in  some  degree  his  confidence  in  the 
chest's  powers  of  resistance ;  so  he  gave  it  an  ally ;  he  took  the  iron  bar 
and  fastened  it  with  the  small  rope  across  the  large  rope  and  across  the 
window.  He  now  mounted  the  chest,  and  from  the  chest  put  his  feet 
through  the  window,  and  sat  half  in  and  half  out,  with  one  hand  on  that 
part  of  the  rope  which  was  inside.  In  the  silent  night  he  heard  his  own 
heart  beat. 

The  free  air  breathed  on  his  face  and  gave  him  the  courage  to  risk  what 
we  must  all  lose  one  day  —  for  liberty.  Many  dangers  awaited  him,  but 
the  greatest  was  the  first  getting  on  to  the  rope  outside.  Gerard  reflected. 
Finally,  he  put  himself  in  the  attitude  of  a  swimmer,  his  body  to  the  waist 
being  in  the  prison,  his  legs  outside.  Then,  holding  the  inside  rope  with 
both  hands,  he  felt  anxiously  with  his  feet  for  the  outside  rope,  and,  when 
he  had  got  it,  he  worked  it  in  between  the  palms  of  his  feet  and  kept  it 
there  tight ;  then  he  uttered  a  short  prayer,  and,  all  the  calmer  for  it,  put 
his  left  hand  on  the  sill  and  gradually  wiggled  out.  Then  he  seized  the 
iron  bar,  and  for  one  fearful  moment  hung  outside  from  it  by  his  right 
hand,  while  his  left  hand  felt  for  the  rope  down  at  his  knees ;  it  was  too 
tight  against  the  wall  for  his  fingers  to  get   round  it  higher  up.     The 


I04  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSinOX 

moment  he  had  fairly  grasped  it,  he  left  the  bar,  and  swiftly  seized  the 
rope  with  the  right  hand  too;  but  in  this  maneuver  his  body  necessarily 
fell  about  a  yard.  A  stifled  cry  came  up  from  below.  Gerard  hung  in 
mid-air.  He  clenched  his  teeth  and  nipped  the  rope  tight  with  his  feet 
and  gripped  it  with  his  hands,  and  went  down  slowly,  hand  below  hand. 
He  passed  by  one  huge  rough  stone  after  another.  He  saw  there  was 
green  moss  on  one.  He  looked  up  and  he  looked  down.  The  moon 
shone  into  his  prison  window ;  it  seemed  very  near.  The  fluttering 
figures  below  seemed  an  awful  distance.  It  made  him  dizzy  to  look  down  ; 
so  he  fixed  his  eyes  steadily  on  the  wall  close  to  him,  and  went  slowly 
down,  down,  down. 

He  passed  a  rusty,  slimy  streak  on  the  wall ;  it  was  some  ten  feet  long. 
The  rope  made  his  hands  very  hot.     He  stole  another  look  up. 

The  prison  window  was  a  good  way  off  now. 

Down  —  down  —  down  —  down. 

The  rope  made  his  hand  sore. 

He  looked  up.  The  window  was  so  distant,  he  ventured  now  to  turn 
his  eyes  downward  again  ;  and  there,  not  more  than  thirty  feet  below 
him,  were  Margaret  and  Martin,  their  faithful  hands  upstretched  to  catch 
him  should  he  fall.  He  could  see  their  eyes  and  their  teeth  shine  in 
the  moonlight.  For  their  mouths  were  open  and  they  were  breathing 
hard. 

"  Take  care,  Gerard!     O,  take  care!     Look  not  down." 

"  Fear  me  not,"  cried  Gerard,  joyfully,  and  eyed  the  wall,  but  came 
down  faster. 

In  another  minute  his  feet  were  at  their  hands.  They  seized  him  ere 
he  touched  the  ground,  and  all  three  clung  together  in  one  embrace. 

—  The  Cloister  and  the  Hearth,  Reade. 

The  Point  of  View  of  a  Person  with  Complete  Knowledge.  — 

The  point  of  the  story  is  Gerard's  escape  from  the  tower. 
The  chief  impression  is  the  excitement  of  suspense.  Most  of 
the  particulars  of  the  story  recount  in  the  order  of  their 
occurrence  actions  as  they  would  appear  to  an  onlooker,  but 
some  of  the  particulars  recount  sensations,  thoughts,  or  emo- 
tions which,  at  the  point  of  their  introduction  into  the  story, 
no  mere  onlooker  could  possibly  know.  The  point  of  view 
from  which  the  story  is  told  is,  therefore,  that  of  a  person 


NARRATION  105 

who  has  complete  knowledge  both  of  what  the  actors  do  and 
say  and  of  what  they  think  and  feel. 

When  a  narrative  is  recounted  from  the  point  of  view  of 
complete  knowledge,  the  narrator  may  recount  anything  con- 
cerning the  actors  that  bears  upon  the  point  of  the  story ; 
i.e.^  he  may  recount  not  only  the  acts  and  the  words,  but  also 
the  thoughts  and  the  feelings  of  the  actors,  and  may  give 
any  necessary  information  concerning  them. 

Summary.  — The  choice  of  particulars  for  narrative,  there- 
fore, depends  not  only  upon  the  point  or  culmination  of  the 
event  and  upon  the  chief  impression  of  the  event,  but  also 
upon  the  point  of  view  of  the  narrator.  The  point  of  view  of 
a  narrator  may  be  that  of  a  bystander,  that  of  an  actor  in  the 
events  recounted,  or  that  of  a  person  with  complete  knowledge. 

Motivization.  —  In  order  to  make  the  events  recounted 
seem  reasonable,  a  narrator  must  use  particulars  which  will 
show  why  the  characters  in  the  story  act  as  they  do ;  i.e.,  the 
narrator  must  make  evident  the  motives  for  actions. 

Each  of  the  events  already  studied  is  the  working  out  of 
a  motive  or  of  a  series  of  motives.  The  first  event  is  the 
working  out  of  a  single  motive,  the  Nazarene's  desire  to  warn 
the  people  of  Messina.  The  second  event  is  the  working 
out  of  two  successive  motives:  (i)  the  chief  actor's  desire  to 
get  an  apple  ;  and  (2)  the  chief  actor's  desire  to  hear  what 
Silver  had  to  say.  Gerard's  escape  is  the  working  out  of  a 
series  of  motives:  (i)  curiosity  concerning  the  arrow;  (2)  a 
wish  to  obey  the  instructions  written  on  the  arrow ;  and  (3) 
the  intent  to  escape. 

The  motive  for  the  Nazarene's  actions  is  clearly  implied 
at  the  point  or  culmination  of  the  story.  The  two  motives 
for  the  actions  of  the  chief  actor  in  the  second  selection  are 
definitely  stated.  The  series  of  motives  for  the  actions  of 
Gerard  are  clearly  implied. 


Io6  PRACTICAL    ENGLISH    COMPOSITION 

Summary.  —  Every  event  is  the  working  out  of  a  motive 
or  of  a  series  of  motives.  In  good  narrative,  motives  are 
either  definitely  stated  or  clearly  implied. 

EXERCISE  n 

I .    Read  carefully  the  following  selection : 

It  was  not  known  whether,  after  the  taking  of  the  bastion,  the  Rochel- 
lais  had  evacuated  it  or  left  a  garrison  in  it ;  the  object  then  was  to  examine 
the  place  near  enough  to  ascertain  the  thing. 

D'Artagnan  set  out  with  his  four  companions  and  followed  the  trench ; 
the  two  guards  marched  abreast  with  him  and  the  two  soldiers  followed 
behind. 

They  arrived  thus,  screened  by  the  lining  of  the  trench,  till  they  came 
within  a  hundred  paces  of  the  bastion.  There,  on  turning  round,  D'Arta- 
gnan  perceived  that  the  two  soldiers  had  disappeared. 

He  thought  that,  beginning  to  be  afraid,  they  had  stayed  within  about 
sixty  paces  of  the  bastion.  They  saw  no  one,  and  the  bastion  seemed 
abandoned. 

The  three  composing  our  forlorn  hope  were  deliberating  whether  they 
should  proceed  any  further,  when  all  at  once  a  circle  of  smoke  enveloped 
the  giant  of  stones  and  a  dozen  balls  came  whistling  round  D'Artagnan 
and  his  companions. 

They  knew  all  they  wished  to  know :  the  bastion  was  guarded.  A 
longer  stay  in  this  dangerous  spot  would  have  been  useless  imprudence. 
D'Artagnan  and  his  two  companions  turned  their  backs,  and  commenced  a 
retreat  which  looked  very  much  like  a  flight. 

On  arriving  at  the  angle  of  the  trench,  which  was  to  serve  them  as  a 
rampart,  one  of  the  guards  fell ;  a  ball  passed  through  his  breast.  The 
other,  who  was  safe  and  sound,  continued  on  his  way  towards  the  camp. 

D'Artagnan  was  not  willing  to  abandon  his  companion  thus,  and 
stooped  down  to  raise  him  and  assist  him  in  regaining  the  lines ;  but  at 
this  moment  two  shots  were  fired ;  one  ball  hit  the  head  of  the  already 
wounded  guard,  and  the  other  was  flattened  against  a  rock  after  having 
passed  within  two  inches  of  D'Artagnan. 

The  young  man  turned  round  quickly,  for  this  attack  could  not  come 
from  the  bastion,  which  was  masked  by  the  angle  of  the  trench  ;  the  idea 
of  the  two  soldiers  who  had  abandoned  him  occurred  to  his  mind,  and  with 
them  that  of  the  assassins  of  two  evenings  before  ;  he  resolved  then,  this 


NARRATION  107 

time,  to  know  what  he  had  to  trust  to,  and  fell  upon  the  body  of  his  com- 
rade as  if  he  had  been  dead. 

He  quickly  saw  two  heads  appear  above  an  abandoned  work,  within 
thirty  paces  of  him  ;  they  were  the  heads  of  two  soldiers.  D'Artagnan  had 
not  been  deceived,  these  two  men  had  only  followed  him  for  the  purpose 
of  assassinating  him,  hoping  that  the  young  man's  death  would  be  placed 
to  the  account  of  the  enemy. 

Only,  as  he  might  be  wounded  and  might  denounce  their  crime,  they 
came  up  to  him  with  the  purpose  of  making  sure  of  him  ;  fortunately, 
deceived  by  D'Artagnan's  trick,  they  neglected  to  reload  their  guns. 

When  they  were  within  ten  paces  of  him,  D'Artagnan,  who,  in  falling, 
had  taken  care  not  to  leave  hold  of  his  sword,  sprang  up  close  to  them. 

The  assassins  comprehended  that  if  they  fled  towards  the  camp  without 
having  killed  their  man,  they  should  be  accused  by  him  ;  therefore,  their 
first  idea  was  to  pass  over  to  the  enemy.  One  of  them  took  his  gun  by  the 
barrel  and  used  it  as  he  would  a  club ;  he  aimed  a  terrible  blow  at  D'Arta- 
gnan,  who  avoided  it  by  springing  on  one  side ;  but  by  this  movement  he 
left  a  passage  free  to  the  bandit,  who  darted  off  towards  the  bastion.  As 
the  Rochellais  who  guarded  the  bastion  were  ignorant  of  the  intentions  of 
the  man  they  saw  coming  towards  them,  they  fired  upon  him.  and  he  fell, 
struck  by  a  ball,  which  broke  his  shoulder. 

In  the  meantime,  D'Artagnan  had  thrown  himself  upon  the  other  soldier, 
attacking  him  with  his  sword ;  the  conflict  was  not  long :  the  wretch  had 
nothing  to  defend  himself  with  but  his  discharged  arquebus  :  the  sword  of 
the  guard  slipped  down  the  barrel  of  the  now  useless  weapon,  and  passed 
through  the  thigh  of  the  assassin,  who  fell. 

—  The  Three  Musketeers,  Du.mas. 

a.  Quote  the  particulars  which  introduce  into  the  story,  at  a  point 

where  they  could  not  be  known  to  a  mere  onlooker,  thoughts 
or  feelings  of  any  of  the  actors. 

b.  Name  the  motives  for  the  various  actions,  and  tell  whether  they 

are  stated  or  implied. 
2.    Bring  to  class  two  examples  of  narrative  told  from  the  point  of 
view    of    complete    knowledge,    choosing    one    example    from    Cooper, 
Dickens,  Hawthorne,  Irving,  or  Scott,  and  the  other  from  some  current 
author. 

a.  Quote  the  particulars  which  show  that  the  narrator  has  com- 
plete knowledge  of  the  thoughts,  the  feelings,  and  the  motives 
of  the  actors. 


Io8  PRACTICAL   E]\-GLISH   COMPOSITION 

b.    Quote  any  particulars  of  the  narrative  which   show  change  of 
motive  in  the  chief  actor. 

THEME  III 

A.  From  the  point  of  view  of  complete  knowledge,  recount : 

""^/l.    The  adventures  of  a  person  who  has  lost  his  way  toward  nightfall. 
""— *    2.    An  attempt  to  rob  an  apple  orchard,  a  grapevine,  or  a  melon 
patch . 

"— *•    3.    The  rescue  of  a  person  from  danger. 
^.     \  reconciliation. 
In  each  of  your  narratives  : 

a.  What  particulars  could  not  be  known  to  a  mere  onlooker? 

b.  In  what  way  do  these  particulars  bear  upon  the  point? 

c.  What  motive   or  what  series  of  motives  is  worked  out  in  the 

various  actions  recounted  in  each  of  your  narratives? 

B.  Examine  each  of  your  compositions  to  see  that  the  particulars  that 
you  have  used  lead  up  to  the  point  of  the  story  and  that  you  have  arranged 
them  in  the  order  in  which  they  occurred. 

C.  Examine  each  of  your  compositions  again  to  see  that  you  have  ex- 
pressed yourself  in  clear  grammatical  sentent^es.  that  you  have  punctuated 
each  sentence  correctly,  that  your  theme  contains  no  misspelled  words. 

D.  Exchange  your  compositions  with  a  classmate. 

E.  Criticize  the  composition  that  you  have  received  ( i )  for  the  choice  and 
the  order  of  the  particulars  that  lead  to  the  point,  (2)  for  the  reasonableness  of 
the  motives  suggested  for  actions,  and  (3)  for  accuracy  in  grammar,  punctua- 
tion, and  spelling. 

F.  Recast  your  own  compositions,  making  the  corrections  suggested 
by  the  person  who  criticized  them. 

Movement. — The  progression  of  events  toward  a  point  is 
movement.  Events  take  place  at  different  degrees  of  speed. 
Therefore,  if  a  narrator  is  to  give  an  exact  impression  of  an 
event,  he  must  indicate  the  right  degree  of  speed. 

Read  the  following  selections,  noting  the  rate  of  speed : . 

I.  She  cut  his  bonds.  He  stood  upright,  looked  round  with  a  laugh 
of  wild  exultation,  clapped  his  hands  together,  and  sprung  from  the  ground 
as  if  in  transport  on  finding  himself  at  liberty.  He  looked  so  wild  that 
Jeanie  trembled  at  what  she  had  done. , 

"  Let  me  out,''  said  the  young  savage. 


NARRATION 


109 


'<  I  wanna,  unless  you  promise  —  " 

"Then  Til  make  you  glad  to  let  us  both  out." 

He  seized  the  lighted  candle  and  threw  it  among  the  flax,  which  was 
instantly  in  a  flame.  Jeanie  screamed  and  ran  out  of  the  room  ;  the 
prisoner  rushed  past  her,  threw  open  a  window  in  the  passage,  jumped  into 
the  garden,  sprung  over  its  inclosure,  bounded  through  the  woods  like  a 
deer,  and  gained  the  seashore.  Meantime,  the  fire  was  extinguished  ;  but 
the  prisoner  was  sought  in  vain.  —  The  Heart  of  Midlothian^  Scott. 

2.  At  my  own  writing  table,  pushed  into  a  corner  cumbered  with  little 
bottles,  Joe  now  sat  down  to  his  great  work,  first  choosing  a  pen  from 
the  pen  trays  as  if  it  were  a  chest  of  large  tools,  and  tucking  up  his  sleeves 
as  if  he  were  going  to  wield  a  crowbar  or  a  sledge  hammer.  It  was 
necessary  for  Joe  to  hold  on  heavily  to  the  table  with  his  left  elbow,  and  to 
get  his  right  leg  well  out  behind  him,  before  he  could  begin,  and  when 
he  did  begin,  he  made  every  downstroke  so  slowly  that  it  might  have  been 
six  feet  long,  while  at  every  upstroke  I  could  hear  his  pen  spluttering 
extensively.  He  had  a  curious  idea  that  the  inkstand  was  on  the  side  of 
him  where  it  was  not,  and  constantly  dipped  his  pen  into  space,  and 
seemed  quite  satisfied  with  the  result.  Occasionally,  he  was  tripped  up 
by  some  orthographical  stumbling  block,  but  on  the  whole  he  got  on 
very  well  indeed,  and  when  he  had  signed  his  name,  and  had  removed 
a  finishing  blot  from  the  paper  to  the  crown  of  his  head  with  his  two  fore- 
fingers, he  got  up  and  hovered  about  the  table,  trying  the  effect  of  his 
performance  from  various  points  of  view  as  it  lay  there,  with  unbounded 
satisfaction.  —  Great  Expectations,  Dickens. 

The  first  selection  recounts  the  rapid  occurrence  of  an 
exciting  event.  Each  of  the  actions  recounted  is  a  vigorous 
action.  One  important  action  follows  close  upon  another 
without  interruption.  Each  additional  action  is  a  marked 
advance  toward  the  point  or  culmination  of  the  story.  The 
conclusion  of  the  event  recounts  briefly  the  final  outcome  of 
the  two  incidents  of  chief  importance,  the  fire  and  the  flight. 

The  second  selection  recounts  the  long  drawn-out  occur- 
rence of  an  event  deliberately  undertaken  and  painstakingly 
performed.  The  actions  recounted  include  not  only  those 
which  are  necessary  to  the  writing  of  a  letter  but  also  many 


no  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

actions  not  necessary  to  the  writing  of  a  letter.  The  re- 
counting of  an  action  essential  to  the  task  is  followed  by  the 
recounting  of  several  actions  unessential  to  the  task.  All  of 
the  actions,  essential  and  unessential  alike,  are  recounted  as 
performed  with  the  utmost  deliberation.  The  conclusion  re- 
counts with  great  elaboration  the  very  unimportant  acts  which 
mark  the  completion  of  the  task. 

In  the  first  selection,  the  effect  of  rapidity  is  produced  by 
the  recounting  in  the  order  of  occurrence  of  only  the  most 
important  particulars,  by  the  expressing  of  the  particulars  in 
words  which  suggest  vividly  rapid  actions.  In  the  second 
selection,  the  effect  of  slowness  is  produced  by  the  recounting 
of  all  the  unnecessary  actions  by  which  the  hero  delays  his 
own  speed,  and  by  the  choice  of  language  which  suggests 
vividly  the  actor's  unaccustomedness  to  his  task. 

Read  the  following  anecdote  : 

3.  With  a  view  to  escape  from  the  crowd  of  Koraks  who  squatted 
around  us  on  the  earthen  floor,  and  whose  watchful  curiosity  soon  became 
irksome,  Dodd  and  I  lifted  up  the  fur  curtain  of  the  polog  which  the 
major's  diplomacy  had  secured,  and  crawled  in  to  await  the  advent  of 
supper.  The  inquisitive  Koraks,  unable  to  find  room  in  the  narrow  polog 
for  the  whole  of  their  bodies,  lay  down  to  the  number  of  nine  on  the 
outside,  and  poking  their  ugly,  half-shaven  heads  under  the  curtain,  re- 
sumed their  silent  supervision.  The  appearance  in  a  row  of  nine  disem- 
bodied heads,  whose  staring  eyes  rolled  with  synchronous  motion  from 
.side  to  side  as  we  moved,  was  so  ludicrous  that  we  involuntarily  burst 
into  laughter.  A  responsive  smile  instantly  appeared  upon  each  of  the 
nine  swarthy  faces,  whose  simultaneous  concurrence  in  the  expression  of 
every  motion  suggested  the  idea  of  some  huge  monster  with  nine  heads 
and  but  one  consciousness.  Acting  upon  Dodd's  suggestion  that  we  try 
and  smoke  them  out,  1  took  a  brierwood  pipe  from  my  pocket  and  pro- 
ceeded to  light  it  with  one  of  those  peculiar  snapping  lucifers  which  were 
among  our  most  cherished  relics  of  civilization.  As  the  match,  with  a 
miniature  fusillade  of  sharp  reports,  burst  suddenly  into  flame,  the  nine 
startled  heads  instantly  disappeared,  and  from  beyond  the  curtain  we  could 


NARRATION  1 1 1 

hear  a  chorus  of  long-drawn  ''  tye-e-e's  ''  from  the  astonished  natives,  fol- 
lowed by  a  perfect  Babel  of  animated  comments  upon  this  diabolical 
method  of  producing  fire.  Fearful,  however,  of  losing  some  other  equally 
striking  manifestation  of  the  white  men's  supernatural  power,  the  heads 
soon  returned,  reenforced  by  several  others  which  the  report  of  the  won- 
derful occurrence  had  attracted.  The  fabled  watchfulness  of  the  hundred- 
eyed  Argus  was  nothing  compared  with  the  scrutiny  to  which  we  were  now 
subjected.  Every  wreath  of  curling  smoke  which  rose  from  our  lips  was 
watched  by  the  staring  eyes  as  intently  as  if  it  were  some  deadly  vapor 
from  the  bottomless  pit,  which  would  shortly  burst  into  report  and  flame. 
A  loud  and  vigorous  sneeze  from  Dodd  was  the  signal  for  a  second  panic- 
stricken  withdrawal  of  the  row  of  heads,  and  another  comparison  of  re- 
spective experiences  outside  the  curtain.  It  was  laughable  enough;  but, 
tired  of  being  stared  at  and  anxious  for  something  to  eat,  we  crawled  out 
of  our  polog  and  watched  with  unassumed  interest  the  preparation  of 
supper.  —  Tent  Life  in  Siberia^  Kennan. 

The  anecdote  recounts  a  series  of  incidents  which  occurred 
at  moderate  speed.  The  particulars  recount  actions,  explain 
reasons  for  actions,  or  state  impressions  made  by  actions. 
The  particulars  are  narrated  in  the  order  of  occurrence ;  i.e., 
actions  in  the  order  in  which  they  took  place,  reasons  before 
the  actions  which  they  explain,  impressions  after  the  actions 
which  produced  them.  The  conclusion  states  brietiy  the  rea- 
son for  bringing  the  series  of  incidents  to  a  close  and  recounts 
the  action  by  which  it  is  brought  to  a  close. 

The  effect  of  moderate  speed  is  produced  :  (i )  by  the  inter- 
posing between  particulars  which  recount  actions  of  greater 
importance,  particulars  which  narrate  reasons  for  actions  or 
impressions  made  by  actions  or  which  describe  conditions 
under  which  actions  occurred ;  and  (2)  by  the  use  of  such 
words  to  express  action  as  express  a  moderate  degree  of 
action. 

Read  the  following  selection,  noticing  the  rate  of  speed : 

4.  Forgetting  for  a  moment  the  purpose  of  his  vigil,  he  was  thinking 
of  a  long  morning's  fishing,  and  had  turned  to  pick  up  his  plaid  and  go  off 


112  PRACTICWL  ENGLISH    COMPOSITION 

to  the  house  for  his  fishing  rod,  when  he  thought  he  heard  the  sound  of 
dry  wood  snapping.  He  Hstened  intently  ;  and  the  next  moment  it  came 
again,  some  way  off,  but  plainly  to  be  heard  in  the  intense  stillness  of  the 
morning.  Some  living  thing  was  moving  down  stream.  Another  mo- 
ment's listening,  and  he  was  convinced  that  the  sound  came  from  a  hedge 
some  hundred  yards  below. 

He  had  noticed  the  hedge  before ;  the  keeper  had  stopped  up  a  gap  in 
it  the  day  before,  at  the  place  where  it  came  down  to  the  water,  with  some 
old  hurdles  and  dry  thorns.  He  drew  himself  up  behind  his  alder,  looking 
out  from  behind  it  cautiously  toward  the  point  from  which  the  sound  came. 
He  could  just  make  out  the  hedge  through  the  mist,  but  saw  nothing. 

But  now  the  crackling  began  again,  and  he  was  sure  that  a  man  was 
forcing  his  way  over  the  keeper's  barricade.  A  moment  afterwards  he  saw 
a  figure  drop  from  the  hedge  into  the  slip  in  which  he  stood.  He  drew 
back  his  head  hastily,  and  his  heart  beat  like  a  hammer  as  he  waited  the 
approach  of  the  stranger.  In  a  few  seconds  the  suspense  was  too  much 
for  him,  for  again  there  was  perfect  silence.  He  peered  out  a  second  time 
cautiously  around  the  tree,  and  now  he  could  make  out  the  figure  of  a  man 
stooping  by  the  waterside  just  above  the  hedge,  and  drawing  a  line.  This 
was  enough  and  he  drew  back  again  and  made  himself  small  behind  the 
tree ;  now  he  was  sure  that  the  keeper's  enemy,  the  man  he  had  come  out 
to  take,  was  here.  His  next  halt  would  be  at  the  line  which  was  set  within 
a  few  yards  of  the  place  where  he  stood.  So  the  struggle  which  he  had 
courted  was  come  I  All  his  doubts  of  the  night  wrestled  in  his  mind  for  a 
minute;  but,  forcing  them  down,  he  strung  himself  up  for  the  encounter, 
his  whole  frame  trembling  with  excitement,  and  his  blood  tingling  through 
his  veins  as  though  it  would  burst  them.  The  next  minute  was  as  severe 
a  trial  of  nerve  as  he  had  ever  been  put  to,  and  the  sound  of  a  stealthy 
tread  on  the  grass  just  below  came  to  him  as  a  relief.  It  stopped,  and  he 
heard  the  man  stoop,  then  came  a  stir  in  the  water  and  the  flapping  as  of 
a  fish  being  landed. 

Now  was  his  time!     He  sprang  from   behind  the   tree,  and  the  next 
moment  was  over  the  stooping  figure  of  the  poacher. 

—  Totn  Brown  at  Oxford,  Hughes. 

The  selection  recounts  an  incident  which  occurred  at  a 
very  slow  rate  of  speed.  Few  physical  actions  on  the  part 
of  the  chief  actor  are  recounted.  Twice  in  the  narrative  all 
happenings  stop.     Of  the  many  particulars  which  make  up 


NARRATION  1 13 

this  incident,  only  six  recount  movements  on  the  part  of  the 
chief  actor.  Of  these  six  movements,  only  the  one  which  is 
the  point  or  culmination  of  the  incident  is  a  vigorous  action. 
The  others  recount  merely  slight  changes  in  position.  Most 
of  the  particulars  of  the  incident  recount  the  mental  activity 
of  the  chief  actor;  i.e.,  they  recount:  (i)  his  mental  actions; 
(2)  his  impressions  ;  (3)  his  sensations  ;  and  (4)  his  judgments. 
Two  particulars  recount  moments  at  which  all  happenings 
stop  ;  as,  *'  in  a  few  seconds  the  suspense  was  too  much  for  him, 
for  again  there  was  perfect  silence,"  and  **  the  next  minute  was 
as  severe  a  trial  of  nerve  as  he  had  ever  been  put  to." 

Whatever  the  particulars  recount,  whether  physical  or 
mental  actions,  impressions,  sensations,  judgments,  or  pauses 
in  action,  they  recount  everything  in  the  order  of  occur- 
rence, and  each  additional  particular  advances  the  incident 
toward  the  point  or  culmination. 

The  effect  of  slowness  is  produced  by  the  use  of  very  few 
particulars  which  recount  actions,  by  the  use  of  many  par- 
ticulars which  do  not  recount  actions,  by  the  recounting  of 
actions  which  take  time,  by  the  indicating  of  interruptions  of 
actions  and  of  pauses  between  actions,  by  the  use  of  words 
which  suggest  the  performing  of  action  slowly. 

Summary. — The  degree  of  rapidity  at  which  a  narrative 
advances  to  the  point,  i.e.,  the  movement  of  the  narrative, 
depends:  (i)  upon  the  number  and  the  kind  of  the  par- 
ticulars recounted;  (2)  upon  the  arrangement  of  the  par- 
ticulars ;  and  (3)  upon  the  choice  of  words  which  narrate  the 
particulars. 

EXERCISE    III 

I.  Bring  to  class  an  illustration  :  (i)  of  an  event  in  which  the  incidents 
took  place  rapidly;  (2)  of  an  event  in  which  the  incidents  took  place 
slowly ;  and  (3)  of  an  event  in  which  the  incidents  took  place  at  varying 
degrees  of  speed. 


114  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

In  each  selection  : 

a.  Show  whether  the  choice  and  arrangement  of  incidents  suggest 

the  degree  of  rapidity  at  which  the  event  occurred. 

b.  Show  whether  the  language  in  which  the  narrative  is  recounted 

helps  to  suggest  the  degree  of  rapidity  at  which  the  incidents 
of  the  event  occurred. 

THEME    IV 

''^i.    Recount  the  particulars  of  the  trip  of  fire  apparatus  from  the  moment 
that  it  leaves  the  engine  house  until  the  moment  it  returns. 
- — 2.    Recount  the  incidents  of  a  recess  period  from  the  point  of  view  of 
the  chief  actor.. 

3.  Recount  the  particulars  of  a  shopping  trip. 

4.  Recount  the  particulars  of  a  journey  in  a  belated  accommodation 
train. 

In  each  of  your  compositions  : 

a.  What  is  the  degree  of  rapidity  ? 

b.  How  do  the  incidents  that  you  have  selected  suggest  the  degree 

of  rapidity? 

c.  Which  of  the  words  that  you  have  used  in  themselves  suggest 

rapid  movement,  moderate  movement,  slow  movement  ? 

Environment  or  Setting.  —  Often  the  movement  of  a  story 
must  be  interrupted  to  give  such  surroundings  or  environ- 
ment of  the  actors  as  will  be  of  importance  in  its  develop- 
ment.    Read  the  following  selections  : 

I .  Matcham  was  well  rested  and  revived  ;  and  the  two  lads,  winged  by 
what  Dick  had  seen,  hurried  through  the  remainder  of  the  outwood, 
crossed  the  road  in  safety,  and  began  to  mount  into  the  high  ground  of 
Tunstall  Forest.  The  trees  grew  more  and  more  in  groves,  with  heathy 
places  in  between,  sandy,  gorsy,  and  dotted  with  old  yews.  The  ground 
became  more  and  more  uneven,  full  of  pits  and  hillocks.  And  with  every 
step  of  the  ascent  the  wind  still  blew  the  shriller,  and  the  trees  bent  before 
the  gusts  like  fishing  rods. 

They  had  just  entered  one  of  the  clearings,  when  Dick  suddenly  clapped 
down  upon  his  face  among  the  brambles  and  began  to  crawl  slowly  back- 
ward towards  the  shelter  of  the  grove.  Matcham  in  great  bewilderment, 
for  he  could  see  no  reason  for  this  flight,  still  imitated  his  companion's 


NAR  RATION'  II5 

course ;  and  it  was  not  until  they  had  gained  the  harbor  of  a  thicket  that 
he  turned  and  begged  him  to  explain. 

For  all  reply,  Dick  pointed  with  his  finger. 

At  the  far  end  of  the  clearing,  a  fir  grew  high  above  the  neighboring 
wood  and  planted  its  black  shock  of  foliage  clear  against  the  sky.  For 
about  fifty  feet  above  the  ground  the  trunk  grew  straight  and  solid  like  a 
column.  At  that  level,  it  split  into  two  massive  boughs  ;  and  in  the  fork, 
like  a  mast-headed  seaman,  there  stood  a  man  in  a  green  tabard,  spying 
far  and  wide.  The  sun  glistened  upon  his  hair ;  with  one  hand  he  shaded 
his  eyes  to  look  abroad,  and  he  kept  slowly  rolling  his  head  from  side  to 
side  with  the  regularity  of  a  machine. 

The  lads  exchanged  glances. 

"Let  us  try  to  the  left,''  said  Dick.     "We  had  near  fallen  foully.  Jack." 

Ten  minutes  afterwards  they  struck  into  a  beaten  path. 

—  The  Black  Af-row,  Stevenson. 

Twice  in  this  narrative  the  recounting  of  actions  is  inter- 
rupted by  the  description  of  environment.  The  first  descrip- 
tion is  of  importance  because  it  gives  a  clear  understanding 
of  the  conditions  in  Tunstall  Forest  which  made  the  escape  of 
the  boys  possible.  The  second  is  important  because  it 
pictures  the  scene  which  made  Dick  change  their  route.  In 
both  instances,  the  environment  depicted  is  physical. 

2.  He  [Gashford]  stopped  in  the  middle  of  a  laugh,  listened,  drew  on 
his  gloves,  and,  clasping  his  hands  behind  him,  paced  the  deserted  room 
for  a  long  time,  then  bent  his  steps  toward  the  busy  town,  and  walked  into 
the  streets. 

They  were  filled  with  people,  for  the  rumor  of  that  day's  proceedings 
had  made  a  great  noise.  Those  persons  who  did  not  care  to  leave  home 
were  at  their  doors  or  windows,  and  one  topic  of  discourse  prevailed  on 
every  side.  Some  reported  that  the  riots  were  effectually  put  down : 
others  that  they  had  broken  out  again ;  some  said  that  Lord  George 
Gordon  had  been  sent  under  a  strong  guard  to  the  Tower ;  others  that  an 
attempt  had  been  made  upon  the  king's  life,  that  the  soldiers  had  been 
called  out  again,  and  that  the  noise  of  the  musketry  in  a  distant  part  of  the 
town  had  been  plainly  heard  within  an  hour.  As  it  grew  darker,  these 
stories  became  more  direful  and  mysterious  ;  and  often,  when  some  fright- 
ened passenger  ran  past  with  tidings  that  the  rioters  were  not  far  oflF.  and 


Il6  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH    COMPOSITION 

were  coming  up,  the  doors  were  shut  and  barred,  lower  windows  were 
made  secure,  and  as  much  consternation  engendered  as  if  the  City  were 
invaded  by  a  foreign  army, 

Gashford  walked  stealthily  about,  listening  to  all  he  heard,  and  diffusing 
or  confirming,  whenever  he  had  an  opportunity,  such  false  intelligence  as 
suited  his  own  purpose ;  and,  busily  occupied  in  this  way,  turned  into  Hol- 
born  for  the  twentieth  time,  when  a  great  many  women  and  children  came 
flying  along  the  street  —  often  panting  and  looking  back  —  and  the  con- 
fused murmur  of  numerous  voices  struck  upon  his  ear.  Assured  by  these 
tokens  and  by  the  red  light  which  began  to  flash  upon  the  houses  on 
either  side  that  some  of  his  friends  w^'e  indeed  approaching,  he  begged 
a  moment's  shelter  at  a  door  which  opened  as  he  passed,  and,  running 
with  some  other  persons  to  an  upper  window,  looked  out  upon  the  crowd. 

—  Barnaby  Rudge,  Dickens. 

In  this  selection,  the  second  paragraph  expresses  the  ex- 
citement and  the  fear  which  pervaded  the  streets  into  which 
Gashford  went;  i.e.y  it  gives  his  7ncntal  environment.  It  is 
of  importance  because  it  explains  the  conditions  which  gave 
him  opportunity  to  carry  out  his  plans. 

The  Importance  of  Environment.  —  Environment  may  be- 
come so  important  as  to  affect  the  mood  of  the  actors  and  so 
control  their  actions. 

Read  the  following  selections  : 

I.  The  white  bull  eyed  his  going  proudly.  Then  he  looked  down  at 
the  torn  and  lifeless  body  between  his  feet.  He  had  not  really  taken  note 
of  it  before.  Now  he  bent  his  head  and  sniffed  at  it  with  wondering 
interrogation.  The  spreading  blood,  still  warm,  smote  his  nostrils ;  and 
all  at  once,  it  seemed,  death  and  the  fear  of  death  were  borne  in  upon  his 
arrogant  heart.  He  tossed  his  head,  snorting  wildly,  flung  himself  clear 
of  the  uncomprehended,  dreadful  thing  upon  the  ground,  bounded  over 
the  wallow  as  if  it,  too,  had  grown  terrifying,  and  fled  away  up  the  trail 
through  the  merciless,  unconcealing  moonlight,  till  he  reached  the  end  of 
the  open  shelf  and  a  black  wood  hid  his  sudden  fear  of  the  unknown. 

—  The  House  in  the  If  a/er,  Roberts. 

The  selection  recounts  the  sudden  change  in  the  mood  of 
the  animal.     Three  different  moods  are  indicated  :     (i)  pride; 


NARRATION  1 17 

(2)  wondering  interrogation;  and  (3)  fear.  The  cause  of  the 
first  change  of  mood  in  the  animal  is  the  sight  of  the  *'  torn 
and  lifeless  body  between  his  feet."  The  cause  of  the 
second  change  of  mood  is  the  odor  of  the  "  spreading 
blood."  In  each  case  the  change  is  due  to  something  in 
the  physical  environment  of  the  animal  that  finally  causes 
it  to  run  away  in  terror. 

2.  I  come  into  the  second  best  parlor  after  breakfast,  with  my  books 
and  an  exercise  book  and  a  slate.  My  mother  is  ready  for  me  at  her 
writing  desk,  but  not  half  so  ready  as  Mr.  Murdstone,  in  his  easy-chair  by 
the  window  (though  he  pretends  to  be  reading  a  book),  or  as  Miss  Murd- 
stone, sitting  near  my  mother  stringing  steel  beads.  The  very  sight  of 
these  two  has  such  an  influence  over  me  that  I  begin  to  feel  the  words  I 
have  been  at  definite  pains  to  get  into  my  head,  all  sliding  away,  and  going 
I  don't  know  where.     I  wonder  where  they  do  go,  by  the  bye. 

I  hand  the  first  book  to  my  mother.  Perhaps  it  is  a  grammar,  perhaps 
a  history  or  geography.  I  take  a  last  drowning  look  at  the  page  as  I  give 
it  into  my  mother's  hand,  and  start  off  aloud  at  a  racing  pace  while  I  have 
got  it  fresh.  I  trip  over  a  word.  Mr.  Murdstone  looks  up.  I  trip  over 
another  word.  Miss  Murdstone  looks  up.  I  redden,  tumble  over  a  half- 
dozen  words,  and  stop.  I  think  my  mother  would  show  me  the  book  if 
she  dared,  but  she  does  not  dare,  and  she  says  softly : 

"Oh,  Davy,  Davy!'' 

"  Now,  Clara,"  says  Mr.  Murdstone,  "  be  firm  with  the  boy.  Don't  say, 
'Oh,  Davy,  Davy!'  That's  childish.  He  knows  his  lesson  or  he  does  not 
know  it." 

''  He  does  not  know  it,"  Miss  Murdstone  interposes  awfully. 

"  I  am  really  afraid  he  does  not,"  says  my  mother. 

"Then,  you  see,  Clara,"  returns  Miss  Murdstone,  "you  should  just  give 
him  the  book  back  and  make  him  know  it." 

"  Yes,  certainly,"  says  my  mother  ;  "  that's  what  I  intend  to  do,  my  dear 
Jane.     Now,  Davy,  try  once  more,  and  don't  be  stupid." 

I  obey  the  first  clause  of  the  injunction  by  trying  once  more,  but  am 
not  so  successful  with  the  second,  for  I  am  very  stupid.  I  tumble  down 
before  I  get  to  the  old  place,  at  a  point  where  I  was  all  right  before,  and 
stop  to  think.  But  I  can't  think  about  the  lesson.  I  think  of  the  number 
of  yards  of  net  in  Miss  Murdstone's  cap,  or  of  the  price  of  Mr.  Murdstone's 


IlS  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

dressing-gown,  or  any  such  ridiculous  problem  that  I  have  no  business 
with,  and  don't  want  to  have  anything  at  all  to  do  with.  Mr.  Murdstone 
makes  a  movement  of  impatience  which  I  have  been  expecting  for  a  long 
time.  Miss  Murdstone  does  the  same.  My  mother  glances  submissively  at 
them,  shuts  the  book,  and  lays  it  by  as  an  arrear  to  be  worked  out  wheni 
my  other  tasks  are  done. 

There  is  a  pile  of  these  arrears  very  soon,  and  it  swells  like  a  rolling, 
snowball.  The  bigger  it  gets,  the  more  stupid  /  get.  The  case  is  so 
hopeless,  that  I  feel  I  am  wallowing  in  such  a  bog  of  nonsense  that  I 
give  up  the  idea  of  getting  out  and  abandon  myself  to  my  fate.  The 
despairing  way  in  which  my  mother  and  I  look  at  each  other  as  I  blunder 
on  is  truly  melancholy.  But  the  greatest  effect  in  these  miserable  lessons 
is  when  my  mother  (thinking  nobody  is  observing  her)  tries  to  give  me  the 
cue  by  the  motion  of  her  lips.  At  that  instant  Miss  Murdstone,  who  has 
been  lying  in  wait  for  nothing  else  all  along,  says  in  a  deep-warning  voice : 

"  Clara  ! " 

My  mother  starts,  colors,  and  smiles  faintly.  Mr.  Murdstone  comes 
out  of  his  chair,  takes  the  book,  throws  it  at  me  or  boxes  my  ears  with  it, 
and  turns  me  out  of  the  room  by  the  shoulders. 

—  David  Copperfield^  Dickens. 

The  selection  recounts  a  boy's  recitation  in  the  presence  of 
two  people  who  are  on  the  watch  for  his  failure.  Two 
different  moods  of  the  boy  are  indicated:  (i)  some  degree 
of  confidence  ;  and  (2)  fear.  The  cause  of  the  boy's  change 
of  mood  and  consequent  failure  is  the  Murdstones'  evident 
desire  that  he  fail ;  i.e.,  it  is  the  mental  environment  in  which 
the  boy  is  reciting. 

Summary.  — The  physical  or  the  mental  surroundings  of  a 
person  form  environment  or  setting.  Environment,  either 
physical  or  mental,  may  influence  an  actor:  (i)  by  giving 
opportunity  for  actions  ;  (2)  by  serving  as  motive  for  action ; 
or  (3)  by  affecting  mood. 

THEME   V 

Write  a  story  on  each  of  the  following  subjects : 

1 .  From  Out  the  Fog. 

2.  The  Contested  Claim. 


NARRATION 


119 


3.  Mrs.  L 's  Social  Ambition. 

4.  Caught  in  the  Act. 

5.  A  Lost  Opportunity. 

In  each  of  your  compositions  : 

a.   What  have  you  introduced  as  environment,  or  setting? 
b»   What  environment  that  you  have  used  gives   opportunity  for 
action?      What   gives    motive    for   action?      What    controls 
action  by  affecting  mood? 

The  Relation  of  Happenings  to  One  Another. — The  effec- 
tiveness of  a  story  depends  not  only  upon  the  particulars 
recounted,  but  also  upon  the  kind  of  order  in  which  they  are 
recounted.  Read  the  following  selections,  noticing  the  order 
in  which  the  particulars  are  recounted. 

I.  So  the  child  flew  away  like  a  bird,  and,  making  bare  her  small 
white  feet,  went  pattering  along  the  moist  margin  of  the  sea.  Here  and 
there  she  came  to  a  full  stop,  and  peeped  curiously  into  a  pool,  left 
by  the  retiring  tide  as  a  mirror  for  Pearl  to  see  her  face  in.  Forth 
peeped  at  her,  out  of  the  pool,  with  dark,  glistening  curls  around  her  head 
and  an  elf-like  smile  in  her  eyes,  the  image  of  the  little  maid,  whom  Pearl, 
having  no  other  playmate,  invited  to  take  her  hand  and  run  a  race  with 
her.  But  the  visionary  little  maid,  on  her  part,  beckoned  likewise,  as  if  to 
say,  "  This  is  a  better  place  !  Come  thou  into  the  pool ! "  And  Pearl, 
stepping  in,  midleg  deep,  beheld  her  own  white  feet  at  the  bottom  ; 
while,  out  of  a  still  lower  depth,  came  the  gleam  of  a  kind  of  fragmentary 
smile,  floating  to  and  fro  in  the  agitated  water  .  .  .  Soon  finding,  however, 
that  either  she  or  the  image  was  unreal,  she  turned  elsewhere  for  better 
pastime.  She  made  little  boats  out  of  birch  bark,  and  freighted  them  with 
snail  shells,  and  sent  out  more  ventures  on  the  mighty  deep  than  any  mer- 
chant in  New  England ;  but  the  larger  part  of  them  foundered  near  the 
shore.  She  seized  a  live  horseshoe  by  the  tail,  and  made  prize  of  several 
five-fingers,  and  laid  out  a  jellyfish  to  melt  in  the  warm  sun.  Then  she 
took  up  the  white  foam  that  streaked  the  line  of  the  advancing  tide,  and 
threw  it  upon  the  breeze,  scampering  after  it  with  winged  footsteps  to 
catch  the  great  snowflakes  ere  they  fell.  Perceiving  a  flock  of  beach- 
birds  that  fed  and  fluttered  along  the  shore,  the  naughty  child  picked  up 
her  apron  full  of  pebbles,  and.  creeping  from  rock  to  rock  after  these  small 


I20  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

sea-fowl,  displayed  remarkable  dexterity  in  pelting  them.  One  little  gray 
bird,  with  a  white  breast,  Pearl  was  almost  sure  had  been  hit  by  a  pebble, 
and  fluttered  away  with  a  broken  wing.  But  then  the  elf-child  sighed, 
and  gave  up  her  sport,  because  it  grieved  her  to  have  done  harm  to  a  little 
being  that  was  wild  as  the  sea  breeze,  or  as  wild  as  Pearl  herself. 

—  The  Scarlet  Letter^  Hawthorne. 

The  selection  recounts  the  series  of  incidents  which  occupy 
the  child's  playtime.  The  motive  suggested  for  the  incidents 
is  the  child's  desire  to  amuse  herself.  The  order  in  which  the 
incidents  occur  is  due  merely  to  the  child's  whim.  In  that 
the  successive  incidents  advance  from  the  beginning  to  the 
end  of  the  child's  playtime,  they  move  toward  a  point  in 
time,  but  no  incident  depends  upon  the  happening  of  any 
other  incident.  The  relation  of  the  incidents  to  one  another 
is  a  mere  time  relation.  This  unrelatedness  of  incidents  em- 
phasizes the  whimsicalness  which  is  the  chief  impression  of 
the  event. 

2.  The  lama  slowly  shook  his  head  and  began  to  fold  up  the  chart. 
The  Russian,  on  his  side,  saw  no  more  than  an  unclean  old  man  haggling 
over  a  dirty  piece  of  paper.  He  drew  out  half  a  handful  of  rupees,  and 
snitched  half  jestingly  at  the  chart,  which  tore  in  the  lama's  grip.  A  low 
murmur  of  horror  went  up  from  the  coolies  —  some  of  whom  were  Spiti 
men  and,  by  their  lights,  good  Buddhists.  The  lama  rose  at  the  insult; 
his  hand  went  to  the  heavy  iron  pencase  that  is  the  priest's  weapon,  and 
the  Babu  danced  in  agony. 

"  Oh  Sar  !  Sar  !     You  must  7iot  hit  holy  man  !  " 

''  Chela !     He  has  defiled  the  Written  Word  !  " 

It  was  too  late.  Before  Kim  could  ward  him  off,  the  Russian  struck  the 
old  man  full  in  the  face.  Next  instant  he  was  rolling  over  and  over  down 
hill  with  Kim  at  his  throat.  The  blow  had  waked  every  unknown  Irish 
devil  in  the  boy's  blood,  and  the  sudden  fall  of  his  enemy  did  the  rest. 
The  lama  dropped  to  his  knees,  half  stunned  ;  the  coolies  under  their  loads 
fled  up  the  hill  as  fast  as  plainsmen  run  across  the  level.  They  had  seen 
sacrilege  unspeakable,  and  it  behooved  them  to  get  away  before  the  gods 
and  devils  of  the  hills  took  vengeance.  The  Frenchman  ran  towards  the 
lama,  fumbling  at  his  revolver  w't.h  some  notion  of  making  him  a  hostage 


NARRATION  1 21 

for  his  companion.  A  shower  of  cutting  stones  —  hillmen  are  very  straight 
shots  —  drove  him  away,  and  a  cooHe  from  Ao-chung  snatched  the  lama 
into  the  stampede.  All  came  about  as  swiftly  as  the  sudden  mountain 
darkness.  —  Kitn,  Rudyard  Kipling. 

The  second  selection  recounts  the  result  of  a  lama's  refusal 
to  sell  a  chart.  Many  of  the  actions  recounted  are  at  once 
the  result  of  a  previous  action  and  the  cause  of  a  subsequent 
action.  The  lama's  refusal  to  sell  the  chart  results  in  the 
Russian's  snatching  at  and  tearing  the  chart.  This  action 
results,  in  turn,  in  three  simultaneous  actions:  (i)  the 
murmur  of  horror  from  the  coolies ;  (2)  the  lama's  reaching 
for  his  pencase  and  speaking  to  his  Chela ;  and  (3)  the  Babu's 
dancing  in  agony  and  speaking  to  the  Russian.  The  lama's 
reaching  for  his  pencase  results  in  the  Russian's  striking  him 
in  the  face.  The  Russian's  blow  results  in  three  simulta- 
neous actions  :  (i)  Kim's  attack  ;  (2)  the  lama's  dropping  to 
his  knees;  and  (3)  the  flight  of  the  coolies.  One  of  these 
actions  —  Kim's  attack  on  the  Russian  —  results  in  the 
Frenchman's  running  toward  the  lama.  'The  Frenchman's 
action  in  turn  results  in  the  shower  of  cutting  stones  from 
the  hillmen  and  in  the  snatching  away  of  the  lama  by  a 
coolie.  Each  of  the  actions  which  advances  the  story  to- 
ward the  point  is  the  immediate  result  of  a  previous  action. 

Summary.  —  A  narrative  may  consist  of  a  series  of  occur- 
rences no  one  of  which  depends  on  the  happening  of  any 
other,  or  it  may  consist  of  a  series  of  occurrences  which  stand 
to  one  another  in  the  relation  of  cause  and  result.  If  there  is 
no  relation  of  cause  and  result  between  occurrences,  good 
narrative  demands  that  each  occurrence  -contribute  in  a 
marked  degree  to  a  chief  impression  in  itself  of  interest. 

Ordinarily,  incidents  are  recounted  in  the  order  in  which 
they  occur,  whether  they  form  a  mere  series  in  time  or 
whether  they  are  in  the  relation  of  cause  and  result.     Some- 


122  PRACTICAL   ExNGLISH    COxMPUSITION 

times,  however,  in  the  course  of  a  narrative,  a  result  is  re- 
counted before  the  cause,  but,  even  then,  most  of  the  inci- 
dents of  the  narrative  are  recounted  in  sequence  of  time. 

THEME    VI 

A.  Write  a  narrative  upon  each  of  three  of  the  following  subjects  : 

1.  What  Came  of  a  Blunder. 

2.  A  Day  of  Mishaps. 

3.  A  Visit  to  a  Man-of-War. 

4.  How  I  Earned  my  First  Dollar. 

5.  A  Day  to  be  Remembered. 

6.  His  Ambition.   ; 

7.  Jack's  First  Lesson. 

In  each  of  your  compositions  : 

a.  What  is  the  chief  impression  ? 

b.  What  occurrences  follow  in  mere  time  order? 

c.  What  occurrences    stand    to   one  another  in  the  relation  of 

cause  and  effect  ? 

B.  Examine  each  of  your  themes  to  see  that  the  occurrences  lead  to 
the  point  with  the  right  degree  of  speed,  that  you  have  used  no  environ- 
ment that  is  unimportant  in  the  story,  that  you  have  used  environment 
when  it  is  important  in  the  story,  that  you  have  indicated  the  right  relation 
between  occurrences. 

C.  Reread  each  of  your  themes  to  see  that  you  have  expressed  your 
ideas  grammatically,  that  you  have  punctuated  each  sentence  accurately, 
and  that  you  have  spelled  all  words  correctly. 

D.  Read  one  theme  to  your  class. 

E.  Rewrite  your  theme,  making  ^the  improvements  suggested  by  the 
class. 

Choice  of  Words  in  Narration.  —  The  particulars  of  a  narra- 
tive must  be  expressed  in  words  which  will  suggest  the  situa- 
tion accurately  and  vividly.  Read  the  following  selection, 
noticing  the  choice  of  words: 

It  was  a  terrible  ride.  Twice  during  the  scrambling  descent  from  the 
hills,  Presley'*s  pony  fell  beneath  him.  Annixter,  on  his  buckskin,  and 
Osterman,  on  his  thoroughbred,  good  horsemen  both,  led  the  others,  set- 
ting a  terrific  pace.     The  hills  were  left  behind.     Broderson  Creek  was 


NARRATION 


1^3 


crossed  and  on  the  levels  of  Quien  Sabe,  straight  through  the  standing 
wheat,  the  nine  horses,  flogged  and  spurred,  stretched  out  to  their  utmost. 
Their  passage  through  the  wheat  sounded  like  the  rip  and  tear  of  a  gigantic 
web  of  cloth.  The  landscape  on  either  hand  resolved  itself  into  a  long 
blur.  Tears  came  to  the  eyes,  flying  pebbles,  clods  of  earth,  grains  of 
wheat  flung  up  in  the  flight,  stung  the  face  like  shot.  Osterman's  thor- 
oughbred took  the  second  crossing  of  Broderson's  Creek  in  a  single  leap. 
Down  under  the  long  trestle  tore  the  cavalcade  in  a  shower  of  mud  and 
gravel;  up  again  on  the  farther  bank,  the  horses  blowing  like  steam 
engines ;  on  into  the  trail  to  Hooven's,  single  file  now,  Presley's  pony 
lagging,  Hooven's  horse  bleeding  at  the  eye.s,  the  buckskin,  game  as  a 
fighting  cock,  catching  her  second  wind,  far  in  the  lead  now,  distancing 
even  the  English  thoroughbred  that  Osterman  rode. 

At  last  Hooven's  unpainted  house,  beneath  the  enormous  live  oak  tree, 
came  in  sight.  Across  the  Lower  Road,  breaking  through  fences  and 
into  the  yard  around  the  house,  thundered  the  Leaguers.  Magnus  was 
waiting  for  them. 

The  riders  dismounted,  hardly  less  exhausted  than  their  horses. 

—  The  Octopus^  Norris. 

The  selection  recounts  the  particulars  of  a  long,  hard  ride. 
While  each  additional  particular  advances  the  riders  a  long 
distance  toward  the  end  of  their  journey,  the  chief  impression 
given  b}^  the  narrative,  an  impression  of  terrific  speed,  is 
produced  mainly  by  the  use  of  words  which  express  either 
terrific  speed  or  its  result  upon  horses  and  riders. 

Although  the  use  of  the  right  particulars  and  the  right 
arrangement  of  particulars  must  result  in  narrative  which  has 
point  and  chief  impression,  the  vividness  of  narrative  depends 
to  a  great  extent  upon  the  expression  of  the  particulars  in 
the  right  words. 

EXERCISE   IV 

Read  the  following  selections  carefully  : 

A 

When  he  and  I  went  in,  we  found  that  dinner  was  nearly  ready  in  the 
kitchen  —  for  so  I  suppose  the  room  ought    to   be   called,  as   tliere  were 


124  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

oak  dressers  and  cupboards  all  round,  all  over  by  the  side  of  the  fireplace, 
and  only  a  small  Turkey  carpet  in  the  middle  of  the  flag  floor.  The 
room  might  have  been  easily  made  into  a  handsome  dark  oak  dining  par- 
lor by  removing  the  oven  and  a  few  other  appurtenances  of  a  kitchen, 
which  were  evidently  never  used,  the  real  cooking  place  being  at  some 
distance. 

We  had  pudding  before  meat ;  and  I  thought  Mr.  Holbrook  was  going 
to  make  some  apology  for  his  old-fashioned  ways,  for  he  began, 

"  I  don^t  know  whether  you  like  new-fangled  ways." 

"  Oh,  not  at  all ! ''  said  Miss  Matty. 

'•  No  more  do  I,''  said  he.  "  My  housekeeper  wi'//  have  these  in  her 
new  fashion  ;  or  else  I  tell  her  that,  when  I  was  a  young  man,  we  used  to 
keep  strictly  to  my  father's  rule,  'No  broth,  no  ball;  no  ball,  no  beef;' 
and  always  began  dinner  with  broth.  Then  we  had  suet  puddings,  boiled 
in  the  broth  with  the  beef,  and  then  the  meat  itself.  If  we  did  not  sup 
our  broth,  we  had  no  ball,  which  we  liked  a  deal  better ;  and  the  beef  came 
last  of  all,  and  only  those  had  it  who  had  done  justice  to  the  broth  and  the 
ball.  Now  folks  begin  with  sweet  things,  and  turn  their  dinners  topsy- 
turvey." 

When  the  ducks  and  green  peas  came,  we  looked  at  each  other  in 
dismay;  we  had  only  two-pronged  black -handled  forks.  It  is  true  the 
steel  was  as  bright  as  silver;  but  what  were  we  to  do?  Miss  Matty  picked 
up  her  peas,  one  by  one,  on  the  point  of  the  prongs,  much  as  Amine  ate 
her  grains  of  rice  after  her  previous  feast  with  the  Ghoul.  Miss  Pole 
sighed  over  her  delicate  young  peas  as  she  left  them  on  one  side  of  her 
plate  untasted,  for  they  would  drop  between  the  prongs.  I  looked  at  my 
host :  the  peas  were  going  wholesale  into  his  capacious  mouth,  shovelled 
up  by  his  large,  round-ended  knife.  I  saw,  I  imitated,  I  survived!  My 
friends,  in  spite  of  my  precedent,  could  not  muster  up  courage  enough  to 
do  an  ungenteel  thing ;  and,  if  Mr.  Holbrook  had  not  been  so  heartily 
hungry,  he  would  probably  have  seen  that  the  good  peas  went  away 
almost  untouched. 

After  dinner  a  clay  pipe  was  brought  in,  and  a  spittoon  ;  and,  asking  us 
to  retire  to  another  room,  where  he  would  soon  join  us,  if  we  disliked 
tobacco  smoke,  he  presented  his  pipe  to  Miss  Matty  and  requested  her  to 
fill  the  bowl.  This  was  a  compliment  to  a  lady  in  his  youth  ;  but  it  was 
rather  inappropriate  to  propose  it  as  an  honor  to  Miss  Matty,  who  had 
been  trained  by  her  sister  to  hold  smoking  of  every  kind  in  utter  abhor- 
rence.    But  if  it  was  a  shock  to  her  refinement,  it  was  also  a  gratification  to 


NARRATION  1 25 

her  feelings  to  be  thus  selected  :  so  she  daintily  stuffed  the  strong  tobacco 
into  the  pipe,  and  then  we  withdrew.  —  Cranford^  Gaskell. 

B 

Once  when  I  was  really  scared,  it  was  entirely  my  own  doing.  And, 
furthermore,  it  served  me  right.  It  was  on  a  very  hot  July  morning  that, 
coming  down  Mulberry  Street,  I  saw  a  big  gray  cat  sitting  on  a  small  keg 
outside  a  corner  store.  It  is  bad  enough  to  have  a  man  snore,  but  a 
cat  —  !  It  was  not  to  be  borne.  I  hauled  off  with  my  cane  and  gave  the 
beast  a  most  cruel  and  undeserved  blow  to  teach  it  better  manners.  The 
snoring  was  smothered  in  a  yell,  the  cat  came  down  from  the  keg,  and  to 
my  horror  there  rose  from  behind  the  corner  an  angry  Celt  swearing  a  blue 
streak.  He  seemed  to  my  anguished  gaze  at  least  nine  feet  tall.  He  had 
been  asleep  at  his  own  door  when  my  blow  aroused  him,  and  it  was  his 
stocking  feet,  propped  up  on  the  keg  as  he  dozed  on  his  chair  around  the 
corner,  I  had  mistaken  for  a  gray  cat.  It  was  not  a  time  for  explanations. 
I  did  the  only  thing  that  was  to  be  done ;  I  ran.  Far  and  fist  did  I  run. 
It  was  my  good  luck  that  his  smarting  feet  kept  him  from  following,  or  I 
might  not  have  lived  to  tell  this  tale.     As  I  said,  it  served  me  right. 

—  The  Makmg  of  aft  American^  Riis. 

In  each  of  the  selections  : 

1.  Name  the  chief  impression. 

2.  Show  in  what  way  each  particular  contributes    to  the    cnief  im- 

pression. 

3.  Show  whether  the   incidents    occur  in  mere  sequence  of  time  or 

whether  they  stand  to  one  another  in  the  relation  of  cause  and 
result. 
4.    Quote  the  words  which  suggest  ideas  most  accurately  and  vividly. 

THEME  VII 

1.  Narrate  an  incident  which  you  have  seen  which  made  you  angry. 

2.  Narrate  an  incident  in  which  the  chief  actor  became  badly  frightened. 

3.  Narrate  an  incident  in  which  the  chief  actor  was  very  greatly  pleased. 

In  each  of  your  compositions  : 

a.  What  is  the  chief  impression? 

b.  In  what  way  does  each  particular  contribute  to  the  chief  im- 

pression? 
■  c.    Which  of  the  incidents  are  in  the  relation  of  cause  and  result? 
d.    What  words  suggest  ideas  most  accurately  and  vividly? 


126  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

Descriptive  Narrative.  —  Sometimes  the  chief  impression 
of  a  narrative  is  given  by  recounting  the  particulars  in  lan- 
guage which  depicts  the  actions.     Read  the  following : 

On  the  hill  where  the  enemy  were  arose  a  pufF  of  smoke,  and  a  cannon 
ball,  whistling,  flew  over  the  heads  of  the  squadron  of  hussars.  The  offi- 
cers, who  had  been  standing  together,  scattered  to  their  posts ;  the  hussars 
began  to  get  their  horses  into  regular  line.  No  one  spoke  in  the  ranks. 
All  looked  intently  at  the  enemy  and  at  the  commander,  and  waited  the 
word  of  command. 

A  second,  a  third  shot  flew  over  them.  Evidently,  the  enemy  were 
firing  at  the  hussars,  but  the  cannon  balls,  whistling  as  they  flew  swiftly 
by,  went  far  over  their  heads  and  fell  somewhere  in  the  rear. 

The  hussars  did  not  look  up,  but  each  time  that  they  heard  the  whiz/, 
of  the  ball,  the  whole  squadron,  with  their  monotonously  diverse  faces, 
holding  their  breaths  until  the  cannon  shot  had  passed  over,  raised  them- 
selves in  their  stirrups  as  if  by  orders,  and  then  settled  back  again.  The 
soldiers,  not  turning  their  heads,  looked  at  one  another  out  of  the  corners 
of  their  eyes,  each  curious  to  know  what  impression  was  produced  upon  his 
neighbor.  On  every  face,  from  Denisof's  to  the  trumpeter's,  there  was 
around  the  lips  and  chin  a  common  expression  of  external  struggle,  excite- 
ment, and  agitation.  The  quartermaster  frowned  and  looked  at  the  men 
as  if  he  meditated  inflicting  punishment  upon  them.  The  yunker.  Mironof, 
ducked  his  head  each  time  that  the  ball  flew  over.  Rostof,  posted  on  the 
left  flank,  on  his  prancing  Grachik,  had  the  delighted  look  of  a  schoolboy 
called  out  before  a  great  audience  to  pass  his  examination,  in  which  he 
believes  that  he  is  going  to  distinguish  himself.  He  looked  at  every  one 
with  a  face  unclouded  and  bright,  as  if  asking  them  to  bear  him  witness 
that  he  was  perfectly  calm  under  fire.  But  in  even  his  face,  the  same 
expression,  indicative  of  something  new  and  solemn,  showed  itself  around 
his  mouth,  against  his  will.  —  War  and  Peace,  Tolstoi. 

This  selection  is  both  good  narrative  and  good  description. 
It  is  good  narrative  because  it  recounts  the  successive  actions 
which  take  place  in  final  preparation  for  the  battle.  It  is 
good  description  because,  with  the  exception  of  one  sentence, 
"  No  one  spoke  in  the  ranks,"  every  sentence  depicts  a  detail 
of  a  scene. 


NARRATION  1 27 

Composition  in  which  the  elements  are  at  the  same  time 
the  particulars  of  a  narrative  and  the  details  of  a  description 
is  descriptive-narrative.  A  descriptive-narrative  is  really  a 
moving  picture  in  words. 

EXERCISE  V 

Read  the  following  selections  carefully  : 


The  farther  they  went  down  the  long  slant  of  the  ledge,  the  more  inter- 
ested the  bears  became.  Here  the  crows  and  gulls  had  not  had  time  to 
capture  all  the  prizes.  There  were  savory  blue-shelled  mussels  clinging 
under  the  tips  of  the  rocks ;  plump  spiral  whelks  between  the  oozy  tresses 
of  the  seaweed ;  orange  starfish  and  bristly  sea  urchins  in  the  shallow 
pools.  All  these  dainties  had  shells  that  the  cub's  young  teeth  could  easily 
crush,  and  they  yielded  meaty  morsels  that  made  beetles  and  grubs  seem 
very  meager  fare.  Moreover,  in  the  salty  flavor  of  this  sea  fruit,  there  was 
something  marvelously  stimulating  to  the  appetite.  From  pool  to  pool  the 
old  bear  wandered  on,  lured  ever  by  richer  prizes  just  ahead ;  and  the  cub, 
stuffed  till  his  little  stomach  was  like  a  black,  furry  ball,  no  longer  frisked 
and  tumbled,  but  waddled  along  beside  her  with  eyes  of  shining  expectancy. 
As  long  as  he  was  not  too  full  to  walk,  he  was  not  too  full  to  eat  such  deli- 
cacies as  these.  The  fascinating  quest  led  them  on  and  on  till  at  last  they 
found  themselves  at  the  water's  edge. 

—  Froin  the  Teeth  of  the  Tide,  Roberts. 

B 

They  glide,  like  phantoms,  into  the  wide  hall ; 

Like  phantoms  to  the  iron  porch  they  glide, 

Where  lay  the  porter,  in  uneasy  sprawl. 

With  a  huge  empty  flagon  by  his  side. 

The  wakeful  bloodhound  rose,  and  shook  his  hide. 

But  his  sagacious  eye  an  inmate  owns. 

By  one,  and  one,  the  bolts  full  easy  slide :  — 

The  chains  lie  silent  on  the  foot-worn  stones : 

The  key  turns,  and  the  door  upon  its  hinges  groans. 

And  they  are  gone.   .  . 

—  The  E-x'c  of  St .  Ai^ius.  Kkats. 


128  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 


The  broad  sky  seemed  on  fire.  Rising  into  the  air  with  showers  of 
sparks,  and  rolling  one  above  the  other,  were  sheets  of  flame,  lighting  the 
atmosphere  for  miles  around,  and  driving  clouds  of  smoke  in  the  direction 
where  he  stood.  The  shouts  grew  louder  as  new  voices  swelled  the  roar, 
and  he  could  hear  the  cry  of  Fire  !  mingled  with  the  ringing  of  an  alarm 
bell,  the  fall  of  heavy  bodies,  and  the  crackling  of  flames  as  they  twined 
round  some  new  obstacle,  and  shot  aloft  as  though  refreshed  by  food. 
The  noise  increased  as  he  looked.  There  were  people  there  —  men  and 
women  —  light,  bustle.  It  was  like  new  life  to  him.  He  darted  onward  — 
straight,  headlong  —  dashing  through  brier  and  brake,  and  leaping  gate 
and  fence  as  madly  as  the  dog,  who  careered  with  loud  and  sounding  bark 
before  him. 

He  came  upon  the  spot.  There  were  half-dressed  figures  tearing  to  and 
fro,  some  endeavoring  to  drag  the  frightened  horses  from  the  stables,  others 
driving  the  cattle  from  the  yard  and  outhouses,  and  others  coming  laden 
from  the  burning  pile,  amidst  a  shower  of  falling  sparks,  and  the  tumbling 
down  of  red-hot  beams.  The  apertures,  where  doors  and  windows  stood 
an  hour  ago,  disclosed  a  mass  of  raging  fire ;  walls  rocked  and  crumbled 
into  the  burning  well ;  the  molten  lead  and  iron  poured  down,  white-hot, 
upon  the  ground.  Women  and  children  shrieked,  and  men  encouraged 
each  other  with  noisy  shouts  and  cheers.  The  clanking  of  the  engine 
pumps,  and  the  spurting  and  hissing  of  the  water  as  it  fell  upon  the 
blazing  wood,  added  to  the  tremendous  roar.  He  shouted,  too,  till  he  was 
hoarse ;  and,  flying  from  memory  and  himself,  plunged  into  the  thickest 
of  the  throng. 

Hither  and  thither  he  dived  that  night ;  now  working  at  the  pumps,  and 
now  hurrying  through  the  smoke  and  flame,  but  never  ceasing  to  engage 
himself  wherever  noise  and  men  were  thickest.  Up  and  down  the  ladders 
upon  the  roofs  of  buildings,  over  floors  that  quaked  and  trembled  with  his 
weight,  under  the  lee  of  falling  bricks  and  stones,  in  every  part  of  that 
great  fire  was  he  ;  but  he  bore  a  charmed  life,  and  had  neither  scratch  nor 
bruise,  nor  weariness  nor  thought,  till  morning  dawned  again,  and  only 
smoke  and  blackened  ruins  remained.  —  Oliver  Twisty  Dickens. 

D 

It  is  purely  a  matter  of  taste,  about  shooting  the  rapids  of  the  St. 
Lawrence.  The  passengers  like  it  better  than  the  captain  and  the  pilot, 
to  guess  by  their  looks,  and  women  and  children  like  it  better  than  the 


NARRATION  1 29 

men.  It  is  no  doubt  very  thrilling  and  picturesque  and  wildly  beautiful : 
the  children  crow  and  laugh,  the  women  shout  forth  their  delight,  as  the 
boat  enters  the  seething  current;  great  foaming  waves  strike  her  bows, 
and  brawl  away  to  the  stern,  while  she  dips,  and  rolls,  and  shoots  onward, 
light  as  a  bird  blown  by  the  wind  ;  the  wild  shores  and  islands  whirl  out 
of  sight ;  you  feel  in  every  fiber  the  careen  of  the  vessel.  But  the  captain 
sits  in  front  of  the  pilot  house  smoking  with  a  grave  face,  the  pilot  tugs 
hard  at  the  wheel ;  the  hoarse  roar  of  the  waters  fills  the  air;  beneath  the 
smoother  sweeps  of  the  current  you  can  see  the  brown  rocks  ;  as  you  sink 
from  ledge  to  ledge  in  the  writhing  and  twisting  steamer,  you  have  a  vague 
sense  that  all  this  is  perhaps  an  achievement  rather  than  an  enjoyment. 
When,  descending  the  Long  Sault,  you  look  back  up  the  hill,  and  behold 
those  billows  leaping  down  the  steep  slope  after  you,  "  No  doubt,"  you 
confide  to  your  soul,  "it  is  magnificent;  but  it  is  not  pleasure." 

—  Their  Wedding  Journey ,  Ho  wells. 

In  each  selection  : 

1.  Name  the  chief  impression. 

2.  Quote  :   (i)  the  elements  which  are  both  narrative  and  descriptive 

in  nature;   (2)  the  elements  which  narrate  without  depicting; 
(3)  the  elements  which  depict  without  narrating. 

THEME  VIII 

1 .  Write  a  descriptive  narrative  of  a  feast  at  a  family  reunion  or  of  a 
picnic  dinner. 

2.  Write  a  descriptive  narrative  of  any  entertainment  at  which  you  have 
been  present. 

3.  Write  a  descriptive  narrative  of  a  visit  to  a  machine  shop,  a  foundry, 
a  factory,  a  mill,  a  department  store,  a  dairy,  or  a  harvest  field. 

4.  Write  a  descriptive  narrative  of  a  circus  or  a  country  fair. 

In  each  of  your  compositions  : 

a.  What  is  the  chief  impression  ? 

b.  What  elements  are  purely  narrative  in  nature? 

c.  What  elements  are  purely  descriptive  in  nature? 

d.  What  words  present  elements  that  are  both  narrative  and  de- 

scriptive in  nature? 

Plot.  —  While  many  actions  are  performed  on  the  spur  of 
the  moment,  or  in  the  carrying  out  of   plans  entered  upon 


I30 


PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITIOX 


with  slight  or  no  regard  to  the  plans  of  others,  many  actions 
are  thought  out  and  performed  with  the  dehberate  purpose 
of  frustrating  the  plans  of  others  or  of  interfering  with  their 
rights. 

Study  the  plans  in  the  following  selections : 

I.    Lying  at  full  length  at  her  feet,  ...  he  told  the  story. 

"Mr.  Litterny  was  in  his  office  in  the  early  afternoon  of  February  i8, 
when  a  man  called  him  up  on  the  telephone.  Mr.  Litterny  did  not  recog- 
nize the  voice,  but  the  man  stated  at  once  that  he  was  Burr  Claflin.  whose 
name  you  may  know.  He  is  a  rich  broker,  and  a  personal  friend  of  both 
the  Litternys.  Voice  is  so  uncertain  a  quantity  over  a  telephone  that  it 
did  not  occur  to  Mr.  Litterny  to  be  suspicious  on  that  point,  and  the  con- 
versation was  absolutely  in  character  otherwise.  The  talker  used  ex- 
pressions and  a  manner  of  saying  things  which  the  jeweler  knew  to  be 
characteristic  of  Claflin. 

"  He  told  Mr.  Litterny  that  he  had  just  made  a  lucky  hit  in  stocks,  and 
'  turned  over  a  bunch  of  money,'  as  he  put  it.  and  that  he  wanted  to  make 
his  wife  a  present.  '  Now  —  this  afternoon  —  this  minute.'  he  said,  which 
was  just  like  Burr  Claflin,  who  is  an  impetuous  old  chap.  '  I  want  to  give 
her  a  diamond  brooch,  and  I  want  her  to  wear  it  out  to  dinner  to-night,'  he 
said.  'Can't  you  send  two  or  three  corkers  up  to  the  house  for  me?' 
That  surprised  Mr.  Litterny  and  he  hesitated,  but  finally  said  that  he 
would  do  it.  It  was  against  the  rules  of  the  house,  but.  as  it  was  for  Mr. 
Claflin,  he  would  do  it.  They  had  a  little  talk  about  the  details,  and 
Claflin  arranged  to  call  up  his  wife  and  tell  her  that  the  jewels  would  be 
there  at  four-thirty,  so  that  she  could  look  out  for  them  personally.  All 
that  was  the  Litterny  end  of  the  aff'air.     Simple  enough,  wasn't  it?  " 

Katherine's  eyes  were  so  intent,  so  brilliant,  that  Norman  North  went 
on  with  a  pleased  sense  that  he  told  the  tale  well. 

"  Now  begins  the  Claflin  experience.  At  half-past  four  a  clerk  from  Lit- 
terny's  left  a  package  at  the  Claflin  house  in  Cleveland  Avenue,  which  was 
at  once  taken,  as  the  man  desired,  to  Mrs.  Claflin.  She  opened  it  and 
found  three  very  handsome  diamond  brooches,  which  astonished  her 
extremely,  as  she  knew  nothing  about  them.  However,  it  was  not  unusual 
for  Claflin  to  give  her  jewelry,  and  he  is,  as  I  have  said,  an  impulsive  man. 
.so  that  unexpected  presents  had  come  once  or  twice  before  :  and,  alto- 
gether, being  much  taken  witii  the  stones,  she  concluded  simply  that  she 
would  understand  when  her  husband  came  home  for  dinner. 


NARRATIOX  131 

"  However,  her  hopes  were  dashed,  for  twenty  minutes  later,  barely  long 
enough  for  the  clerk  to  have  got  back  to  the  shop,  she  was  called  to  the 
telephone  by  a  message,  said  to  be  from  Litterny's,  and  a  most  polite  and 
apologetic  person  explained  over  the  line  that  a  mistake  had  been  made'; 
that  the  diamonds  had  been  addressed  and  sent  to  her  by  an  error  of  the 
shipping-clerk  ;  that  they  were  not  intended  for  Mrs.  Burr  Claflin,  but  for 
Mrs.  Bird  Catlin,  and  that  the  change  in  name  had  been  discovered  on  the 
messenger's  return.  Would  she  pardon  the  trouble  caused,  and  would 
Mrs.  Claflin  be  good  enough  to  see  that  the  package  was  given  to  their 
man,  who  would  call  for  it  in  fifteen  minutes.-*  Now  the  Bird  Catlins,  as 
you  must  know,  are  richer  people  even  than  the  Claflins.  so  the  thing 
was  absolutely  plausible.  Mrs.  Claflin  tied  up  the  jewels  herself,  and 
intrusted  them  to  her  own  maid,  who  had  been  with  her  for  years,  and  this 
woman  answered  the  door  and  gave  the  parcel  into  the  hands  of  a  man 
who  said  that  he  was  sent  from  Litterny's  for  it.  All  that  the  maid  could 
say  of  him  was  that  he  was  a  '  pretty  young  man,  with  a  speech  like  a  gen- 
tleman.' And  that  was  the  last  that  has  been  seen  of  the  diamond 
brooches.  Wasn't  it  simple?  Didn't  I  tell  you  that  this  aff"air  was  an 
artistic  one?"  North  demanded. 

—  The  Diamond  Brooches,  M.  R.  S.  Andrews. 

This  selection  recounts  the  particulars  of  the  carrying  out 
of  a  daring  plan  of  robbery.  The  deed  is  recounted  in 
two  main  parts.  The  first  part  recounts  the  thief's  method 
of  getting  the  jewels  away  from  Litterny's  into  the  hands  of 
Mrs.  Claflin. 

Most  of  the  particulars  of  the  first  part  establish  conditions 
which  do  one  of  two  things  :  either  they  give  to  the  listener 
information  which  is  essential  to  her  understanding  of  the 
point  or  they  recount  the  means  that  the  thief  took:  (V?)  to 
establish  his  identity  as  Burr  Claflin  ;  {b)  to  make  his  request 
seem  a  natural  one  ;  {c)  to  arrange  for  the  delivery  of  the 
jewels. 

Most  of  the  particulars  of  the  second  part  of  the  story 
recount  actions  of  two  kinds:  (i)  actions  which  get  the  jew- 
els into  Mrs.  Claflin's  hands ;  (2)  actions  which  get  the  jewels 


132 


PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 


out  of  Mrs.  Claflin's  hands  into  the  thief's  hands.  The  par- 
ticulars which  do  not  recount  actions  establish  conditions  of 
•two  kinds:  (i)  conditions  which  suggest  to  the  listener  the 
outcome  of  the  story  ;  (2)  conditions  which  establish  identity; 
(a)  that  of  the  sender  of  the  jewels  as  Burr  Claflin ;  (d)  that 
of  the  man  who  telephoned  as  a  clerk  at  Litterny's. 

2.  "  I  tell  thee/'  said  De  Bracy,  "  that  I  mean  to  purvey  me  a  wife  after 
the  fashion  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin  ;  which  is  as  much  as  to  say,  that  in 
this  same  equipment  I  will  fall  upon  that  herti  of  Saxon  bullocks,  who  have 
this  night  left  the  castle,  and  carrv  off  from  them  the  lovelv  Rowena." 

"Art  thou  mad,  De  Bracy?"  said  Fitzurse.  "  Bethink  thee  that,  though 
the  men  be  Saxons,  they  are  rich  and  powerful,  and  regarded  with  the 
more  respect  by  their  countrymen,  that  wealth  and  honor  are  the  lot  of  but 
few  of  Saxon  descent." 

"  And  should  belong  to  none,"  said  De  Bracy.  "  The  work  of  the  Con- 
quest should  be  completed." 

"  This  is  no  time  for  it  at  least,"  said  Fitzurse  ;  ''  the  approaching  crisis 
renders  the  favor  of  the  multitude  indispensable,  and  Prince  John  cannot 
refuse  justice  to  any  one  who  injures  their  favorites." 

"  Let  him  grant  it  if  he  dare."  said  De  Bracy ;  "  he  will  soon  see  the  dif- 
ference betwixt  the  support  of  such  a  lusty  lot  of  spears  as  mine,  and  that 
of  a  heartless  mob  of  Saxon  churls.  Yet  I  mean  no  immediate  discovery 
of  myself.  Seem  I  not  in  this  garb  as  bold  a  forester  as  ever  blew  horn? 
The  blame  of  the  violence  shall  rest  with  the  outlaws  of  the  Yorkshire  for- 
ests. I  have  sure  spies  on  the  Saxons'  motions.  To-night  they  sleep  in 
the  convent  of  Saint  Wittol,  or  Withold,  or  whatever  they  call  that  churl 
of  a  Saxon  saint  at  Burton-on-Trent.  Next  day's  march  brings  them 
within  our  reach,  and  f;ilcon-ways,  we  swoop  on  them  at  once.  Presently 
after  I  will  appear  in  mine  own  shape,  play  the  courteous  knight,  rescue 
the  unfortunate  and  afflicted  fair  one  from  the  hands  of  the  rude  ravishers, 
conduct  her  to  Front-de-Boeufs  castle,  or  to  Normandy,  if  it  should  be 
necessary,  and  produce  her  not  again  to  her  kindred  until  she  be  the  bride 
and  dame  of  Maurice  De  Bracy."  —  Ivanhoe^  Scott. 

This  selection  recounts  the  main  particulars  of  De 
Bracy's  plan  to  kidnap  the  Lady  Rowena.  The  particulars 
recount :  (i)  the  purpose  of  the  plan  ;  (2)  two  objections  to  the 


NARRATION 


^35 


plan  ;  and  (3)  the  main  details  of  the  plan.  The  particulars 
which  recount  the  details  of  the  plan  recount :  (i)  the  point  of 
the  disguise;  (2)  the  reliability  of  De  Bracy's  information  con- 
cerning Cedric's  movements;  (3)  Cedric's  plans;  and  (4)  De 
Bracy's  plan  of  action  for  the  capture  of  the  Lady  Rovvena. 

Each  of  the  selections  recounts  the  particulars  of  2,  plot,  i.e., 
of  a  plan  of  action  intended  by  the  originator  to  thwart  the 
plans  of  other  people. 

The  plot  from  Ivaiihoe,  given  above,  is  only  one  of  many 
minor  or  sub  plots,  each  one  of  which  has  some  special  bear- 
ing upon  the  main  course  of  events  worked  out  in  the  chief, 
or  main,  plot  of  the  story.  A  minor  plot  may  serve  (i)  to 
give  motive  for  action,  (2)  to  form  setting,  or  (3)  to  throw  light 
on  character. 

A  plan  of  action  intended  to  thwart  the  plans  or  to  interfere 
with  the  rights  of  some  person  or  persons  is  a  plot. 

A  plot  intended  to  prevent  or  to  offset  another  plot  is  a 
counterplot. 

EXERCISE   VI 

Select  from  the  works  of  some  standard  author  : 

1.  An  illustration  of  plot. 

a.    Show  whether  the  plot  selected   provides   motive  for  further 
action,  serves  as  setting,  or  throws  light  on  character. 

2.  An  illustration  of  plot  and  counterplot. 

THEME  IX 

1.  Write  a  story  with  plot  in  which  the  outcome  is  a  surprise. 

2.  Construct  plots  from  each  of  the  following  reports,  and  write  narra- 
tives developing  each  plot  by  means  of  the  right  particulars. 

a.  An  ordinary  coat  button  has  just  led  to  the  capture  of  a  murderer 
after  a  search  of  many  months.     On  March  29  last,  a  postcard  publisher 

named  D F F ,  a  native  of  Mauritius,  was  found  murdered  in 

his  offices  in  Paris.  Near  the  body  lay  an  overcoat  bearing  the  mark  of  a 
Brussels  firm  of  outfitters.  The  coat  was  much  worn,  and  had  been  fitted 
with  new  buttons  bearing  a  Buenos  Ayres  trade-mark. 


134 


PRACTICAL   ENGLISH    COMPUSITIOX 


Inquiries  at  Brussels  were  fruitless.  The  coat  was  then  sent  to  Buenos 
Ayres,  where,  after  a  painstaking  search,  it  was  recognized  by  a  tailor  who 
did  repairs  for  the  customers  of  a  small  hotel  there.  He  had  sewn  new 
buttons  on  the  coat  eighteen  months  ago  for  a  Belgian  named  K . 

This  man's  movements  were  traced  through  a  local  shipping  office  to 
Paris,  and  it  was  ascertained  that  he  was  here  at  the  time  of  the  murder. 

Investigation  into  K 's  career  showed  that  he  was  a  deserter  from  the 

Belgian  army.  Eventually  he  was  traced  to  Brussels  and  was  arrested  the 
other  day. 

Charged  with  the  murder  of  F ,  he  at  once  made  a  full  confession 

that  he  had  killed  him  in  the  course  of  a  quarrel. 

—  Boston  Evening  Transcript. 

b.    Pittsburg,    Sept.    26.  —  W M ,    the    convict    banker    and 

former  friend  of  United  States  Senator  M ,  was  to-day  started  from 

Riverside  Penitentiary  to  the  Government  prison  at  Leavenworth,  Kan. 
This  man,  who  was  for  many  years  the  financial  backer  and  confidential 

advisor  of  Senator   M .  was  driven  through   the   streets,  chained   to 

other  convicts. 

M had  been  a  most  unruly  prisoner,  and  it  is  hinted  that  he  was 

at  the  head  of  a  plot  to  liberate  many  prisoners  soon  and  that  this  has- 
tened his  departure  for  the  Government  prison. 

M ,  who  was  sentenced  to  fifteen  years  at  hard  labor  for  wrecking 

the  Allegheny  National  Bank  for  $2,000,000,  had  been  head  of  the  bankers' 
colony  in  Riverside  Penitentiary  since  his  incarceration,  and  it  is  said 
practically  ran  the   prison  to  suit    himself  until   the  recent  induction  of 

J F ,  M "s  former  pal,  as  warden.     Instead  of  allowing  him  to 

continue  to  run  things  in  prison,  F threw  M into  the  dungeon. 

—  Neu*  York  Sun . 

3.  Write  narratives  with  plot  in  which  the  interest  centers  in  a  missing 
ring,  a  lost  child,  a  stolen  horse,  a  broken  trap,  a  high-speed  motor  car,  a 
marked  bank  note,  smuggled  lace,  a  shifted  landmark,  a  diverted  stream,  a 
new  lode,  a  four-footed  thief,  hidden  treasure. 

SUMMARY 

To  write  narration : 
I.    Choose  events  worth  recounting. 

1.    Decide  upon  the  point,  or  culmination,  and  upon  the  chief  im- 
pression of  the  occurrences  to  be  recounted. 


NARR^^TION  I  -  - 

2.  Decide  upon  the  rate  of  speed   at  which  the  occurrences  took 

place. 

3.  Choose  the  point  of  view  best  calculated  to  emphasize  the  point, 

or  culmination,  and  the  chief  impression  of  the  event  or  of  the 
series  of  events. 

4.  Choose  the  particulars  necessary  to  bring  out  the  point  and  to 

give  the  right  impression. 

5.  Note  the  order  in  which  the  occurrences  happened. 

II.    Recount  the  particulars  so  as  to  give  an  exact  impression  of  wnat 
happened. 

1.  State  or  clearly  indicate  your  point  of  view  as  narrator. 

2.  Early  in  the  narrative  indicate  the  time  and  the  place  at  which  the 

event  or  the  series  of  events  occurred,  introduce  the  chief  actor, 
and  somewhere  state  or  clearly  imply  the  motive  or  motives 
which  incited  him  to  action. 

3.  Recount  the  particulars  in   the  order  which,  from  the  point  of 

view  selected,  best  leads  to  the  point,  or  culmination. 

a.  When  your  point  of  view  is  that  of  a  bystander,  recount  par- 

ticulars in  the  order  in  which  they  caught  your  attention. 

b.  When  your  point  of  view  is  that  of  an  actor  in  the  occurrences, 

recount  the  particulars  in  the  order  in  which  you  as  actor 
became  aware  of  them. 

c.  When  your  point  of   view   is  that   of   complete    knowledge, 

recount  the  particulars  in  the  order  in  which  they  must  be 
made  known  to  give  clearness  and  increasing  interest  to 
the  story. 

4.  Tell  your  story  in  words  which  bring  out  the  occurrences  accu- 

rately and  vividly. 
III.   Criticize  your  work. 

1.   Examine  your  work  to  see: 

a.  That  the  point  of  view  is  either  stated  or  clearly  implied. 

b.  That  you  have  omitted  no  particular  necessary  to  lead  to  the 

point,  or  culmination,  or  to  suggest  the  chief  impression. 

c.  That  you  have  included   no   particular  which  could   not   be 

known  at  the  time  at  which  you  introduceci,  it  from  your 
point  of  view  as  narrator. 

d.  That  the  order  in  which  you  recount  the  particulars  is,  in  the 

main,  the  order  in  which  they  occurred. 

e.  That  you  have  told  the  occurrences  in  words  which  suggest 

accurately  and  vividly  the  chief  impression  and  the  rate  of 
speed. 


136 


PRACTICAL    ENCiLISH    COMl'OSlTIOxN 


IV.   Review  your  work. 

1.  Examine  your  work  to  see : 

a.  That  each  sentence  is  grammatical. 

b.  That  each  sentence  is  accurately  punctuated. 

c.  That  each  word  is  correctly  spelled. 


ADDITIONAL    SUBJECTS   FOR   ORAL   AND   WRITTEN  NARRATION 


1 .  The  Test  of  Courage. 

2.  The  Emergency  Call. 
3-  Hard-won  Success. 

4.  The  Pot  of  Gold. 

5.  The  Trial  of  Patience. 

6.  Out  of  Tune. 

7.  The  Ringleader's  Mistake. 

8.  The  Battle  for  Supremacy. 

9.  The  Unwelcome  Guest. 

10.  A  Devoted  Friend. 

11.  A  Trip  across  Country. 

12.  A  Day's  Sport. 

13.  The  Coaching  Parade. 

14.  Our  Last  Picnic. 

15.  Hunting  for  Antiques. 

16.  A  Soldier's  Tale. 

17.  The  Explosion. 

18.  A  Mountain  Climb. 

19.  Lost  in  a  Storm. 

20.  The  Would-be  Hero. 

21.  A  Moment  of  Suspense. 

22.  The  First  Day  of  School. 

23.  Cramming. 

24.  One  Valentine's  Day. 


25.  A  Greased-pig  Race. 

26.  A  Day  in  a  Mining  Camp. 

27.  My  Experience  with  Cows. 

28.  The  First  Swimming  Lesson. 

29.  A  Strange  Visitor. 

30.  The  Legend  of  the  Old  House. 

31.  My  First  Fish. 

32.  A  Hay-ride. 

33.  The  Prize  Contest. 

34.  The  Escape. 

35.  The  Sham  Fight. 

36.  The  Open  Door. 

37.  A  Pair  of  Skates. 

38.  At  Pemberton  Creek. 

39.  The  Water-ghost. 

40.  The  Clam-bake. 

41.  The  Round-up. 

42.  A  Water  Carnival. 

43.  The  Mardi-Gras. 

44.  Almost  a  Tragedy. 

45.  The  Relay  Race. 

46.  A  Little  Rebel. 

47.  Guard  Mount. 

48.  Mustered  Out. 


4 


CHAPTER   V 
THE   PARAGRAPH 

While  a  composition  that  is  simple  in  nature  often  consists 
of  a  single  group  of  sentences  so  related  and  so  arranged  as  to 
develop  a  single  point,  a  composition  that  is  at  all  complex  in 
nature  must  consist  of  several  or  many  groups  of  related 
sentences,  each  group  making  a  minor  point  which  helps  to 
develop  the  main  point  of  the  entire  composition. 

Definition.  — A  group  of  related  sentences  that  develop  a 
single  point  is  a  paragraph. 

Read  the  following  selection,  noticing  the  point  of  each 
paragraph  and  its  relation  to  the  main  point  of  the  selection : 

Mrs.  Maitland  walked  through  her  Iron  Works  as  some  women  walk 
through  a  garden,  —  lovingly.  She  talked  to  her  son  rapidly  ;  this  was  so 
and  so ;  there  was  such  and  such  a  department ;  in  that  new  shed  she 
meant  to  put  the  draftsmen;  over  there  the  timekeeper,  —  she  paused. 
Blair  had  left  her,  and  was  standing  in  an  open  doorway  of  the  foundry, 
watching,  breathlessly,  a  jibcrane  bearing  a  great  ladle  full  of  tons  of  liquid 
metal  that  shimmered  above  its  white-hot  expanse  with  the  shifting  blue 
flames  of  escaping  gas.  Seething  and  bubbling,  the  molten  iron  slopped 
in  a  flashing  film  over  the  side  of  the  caldron,  every  drop,  as  it  struck  the 
black  earth,  rebounding  in  a  thousand  exploding  points  of  fire.  Above 
the  swaying  ladle,  far  up  in  the  glooms  under  the  roof,  the  shadows  were 
pierced  by  the  lurching  dazzle  of  arc-lamps ;  but  when  the  ladle  tipped, 
and  with  a  crackling  roar  the  stream  of  metal  flowed  into  a  mold,  the  siz- 
zling violet  gleam  of  the  lamps  was  abruptly  extinguished  by  the  intoler- 
able glare  of  light. 

"Oh,"  Blair  said  breathlessly,  "how  wonderful  I" 

"It  is  wonderful," his  mother  said.  "  Thomas,  here,  can  move  the  lever 
that  tips  the  ladle  with  his  two  fingers  —  and  out  comes  the  iron  as  neatly 
as  cream  out  of  a  jug ! " 

137 


138  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

Blair  was  so  entirely  absorbed  in  the  fierce  magnificence  of  light,  and  in 
the  glowing  torsos  of  the  molders,  planted  as  they  were  against  the  pro- 
found shadows  of  the  foundry,  that  when  she  said,  "Come  on!"  he  did 
not  hear  her.  Mrs.  Maitland,  standing  with  her  hands  on  her  hips,  her 
feet  well  apart,  held  her  head  high  ;  she  was  intensely  gratified  by  his 
interest.  "If  his  father  had  only  lived  to  see  him  ! ''  she  said  to  herself. 
In  her  pride,  she  almost  swaggered;  she  nodded,  chuckling,  to  the  molder 
at  her  elbow,  "  He  takes  to  it  like  a  duck  to  water,  doesn't  he,  Jim?  " 

"And,"  said  Jim,  telling  the  story  afterward,  "I  allowed  Td  never  seen 
a  young  feller  as  knowing  about  castings  as  him.  She  took  it  down 
straight.  You  can't  pile  it  on  too  thick  for  a  woman,  about  her  young 
'un." 

"  Somebody  ought  to  paint  it,"  Blair  said,  under  his  breath. 

Mrs,  Maitland's  face  glowed ;  she  came  and  stood  beside  him  a  moment 
in  silence,  resting  her  big,  dirty  hand  on  his  shoulder.  Then  she  said, 
half  sheepishly  :  "  I  call  that  ladle  the  '  cradle  of  civilization.'  Think  what's 
inside  of  it!  There  are  rails  that  will  hold  New  York  and  San  Francisco 
together,  and  engines  and  machines  for  the  whole  world ;  there  are  tele- 
graph wires  that  will  bring  —  think  of  all  the  kinds  of  news  they  will  bring, 
Blair,  —  wars,  and  births  of  babies!  There  are  bridges  in  it,  and  pens  that 
may  write  —  well,  maybe  love-letters,"  she  said,  with  sly  and  clumsy  humor, 
"  or  even  write,  perhaps,  the  liberty  of  a  race,  as  Lincoln's  pen  wrote  it. 
Yes!"  she  said,  her  face  full  of  luminous  abstraction,  "the  cradle  of 
civilization!"  —  The  Iron  Woman,  Margaret  Deland. 

The  first  paragraph  develops  the  kind  of  interest  that  each 
of  the  two  people  concerned  has  in  the  Iron  Works.  The 
second  paragraph  gives  the  effect  of  the  works  on  the  son. 
The  third  paragraph  gives  the  mother's  interpretation  of 
what  the  son's  exclamation  means.  The  fourth  paragraph 
gives  the  mother's  thoughts  and  feelings  about  her  son's 
interest.  The  fifth  paragraph  gives  the  workman's  comment 
on  the  situation.  The  sixth  paragraph  gives  the  son's  opinion 
about  what  he  has  seen.  The  seventh  paragraph  gives  the 
mother's  thought  about  the  same  phase  of  the  works.  All 
the  paragraphs  together  develop  the  difference  in  the  points 
of  view  of  mother  and  son. 


J 


THE   PARAGRAPH  1 39 

EXERCISE  I 

1.  Choose  from  Scott,  Dickens,  Hawthorne,  Poe,  orany  other  standard 
authors  three  selections,  each  of  which  consists  of  a  group  of  paragraphs 
which  together  form  a  unit. 

2.  State  the  point  of  each  selection  and  tell  what  each  paragraph  con- 
tributes to  the  development  of  the  point. 

3.  Repeat  the  exercise,  choosing  selections  from  contemporary  authors. 

The  Topical  OuUine.  —  The  giving  in  order  of  the  points 
of  the  paragraphs  in  a  unit  of  composition  forms  a  topical 
outline. 

For  example,  the  topical  outline  of  the  selection  from  The 
Iron  WomaHy  given  above,  is  as  follows  : 

I.  The  difference  in  the  attitude  of  Mrs.  Maitland  and  of  Blair  toward 
the  Iron  Works. 

A.  Kind  of  interest  in  the  scene  at  the  Iron  Works. 

1.  Mrs.  Maitland's. 

2.  Blair's. 

B.  Blair's  impression  of  the  scene. 

C    Mrs.  Maitland's  impression  of  Blair's  interest. 

D.  The  workman's  comment  on  the  situation. 

E.  Blair's  opinion  of  the  value  of  the  scene. 

I.    Good  artistic  material. 
f.    Mrs.  Maitland's  opinion  of  the  value  of  the  scene. 
I .    "  Cradle  of  civiHzation." 

EXERCISE  II 

1.  Make  a  topical  outline  of  each  of  the  selections  that  you  made  for 
Exercise  I. 

2.  Write  topical  outlines  for  each  of  the  following  subjects  : 

a.  Hay-making, 

b.  Buying  the  New  Automobile. 

c.  Shopping. 

d.  Hunting  for  Mayflowers. 
(.  Catching  the  Thief. 

/.    The  Surprise. 

g.    Building  the  Bungalow. 


140  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

3.    Develop  into  a  composition  any  one  of  your  outlines. 

a.  Exchange  the  outline  that  you  developed  for  one  developed  by  a 

classmate. 

b.  Develop  into  a  composition  the  outline  that  you  have  received. 

c.  Compare  the  two  compositions  developed  from  the  same  outline. 
Which  composition  is  the  better? 

In  what  way? 

When  a  paragraph  is  a  part  of  a  larger  composition,  the 
point  which  it  is  to  make  depends  upon  the  part  the  paragraph 
is  to  play  in  the  composition. 

Study  the  following  selection,  noticing  the  bearing  of  each 
paragraph  on  the  main  point : 

Humphrey  Baskerville  had  sold  his  ponies  in  an  hour,  and  was  prepar- 
ing to  make  a  swift  departure  when  accident  threw  him  into  the  heart  of  a 
disturbance  and  opened  the  way  to  significant  incidents. 

The  old  man  met  Jack  Head  and  was  speaking  with  him,  but  suddenly 
Jack  caught  the  other  by  his  shoulders  and  pulled  him  aside  just  in  time  to 
escape  being  knocked  over.  A  dozen  over-driven  bullocks  hurtled  past 
them  with  sweating  flanks  and  dripping  mouths.  Behind  came  two  drovers, 
and  a  brace  of  barking  dogs  hung  upon  the  flanks  of  the  weary  and 
frightened  cattle. 

Suddenly,  as  the  people  parted,  a  big  brute,  dazed  and  maddened  by 
the  yelping  dogs  now  at  his  throat,  now  at  his  heels,  turned  and  dashed 
into  the  open  gate  of  a  cottage  by  the  way. 

The  door  of  the  dwelling  stood  open  and  before  man  or  sheepdog  had 
time  to  turn  him,  the  reeking  bullock  had  rushed  into  the  house.  There 
was  a  crash  within,  the  agonized  yell  of  a  child  and  the  scream  of  a  woman. 
Then  rose  terrified  bellowings  from  the  bullock,  where  it  stood  jammed  in 
a  passageway  with  two  frantic  dogs  at  its  rear. 

A  crowd  collected,  and  Mr.  Baskerville  amazed  himself  by  rushing 
forward  and  shouting  a  direction.  "Get  round,  somebody,  and  ope  the 
back  door!" 

A  woman  appeared  at  the  cottage  window  with  a  screaming  and  bloody 
child  in  her  arms. 

''There's  no  way  out;  there's  no  way  out,"  she  cried.  "There's  no 
door  to  the  garden!" 

"Get  round;  get  round!     Climb  over  the  back  wall,"  repeated  Basker- 


THE   PARAGR-\PH  1 41 

ville.  Then  he  turned  to  the  woman.  "  Ope  the  window  and  come  here, 
you  silly  fool  !"  he  said. 

She  obeyed,  and  Humphrey  found  the  injured  child  was  not  much  hurt, 
save  for  a  wound  on  its  arm.  Men  soon  opened  the  rear  door  of  the 
cottage  and  drove  the  bullock  out  of  the  house;  then  they  turned  him 
round  in  the  garden  and  drove  him  back  again  through  the  house  into  the 
street. 

The  hysterical  woman  regarded  Mr.  Baskerville  as  her  saviour  and 
refused  to  leave  his  side.  —  The  Three  Brothers,  Eden  Phillpotts. 

The  first  paragraph,  by  introducing  the  chief  actor  and  sug- 
gesting his  relation  to  the  events  about  to  follow,  at  once 
suggests  the  subject,  limits  its  scope,  and  indicates  in  a  gen- 
eral way  the  point  to  be  made;  i.e.,  it  is  an  introductory 
paragraph. 

Each  of  the  next  nine  paragraphs,  by  presenting  in  order 
the  various  particulars  of  the  event,  contributes  an  important 
point  in  the  development  of  the  main  point  of  the  composi- 
tion ;  i.e.^  it  is  a  main  unit  of  the  body  of  the  composition. 

The  last  paragraph  gives  the  final  outcome,  or  conclusion, 
of  the  event ;  i.e.,  it  is  a  concluding  paragraph. 

Read  the  following  selection  : 

The  English  functionaries  at  Fort  William  had  as  yet  paid  little  or  no 
attention  to  the  internal  government  of  Bengal.  The  only  branch  of  poli- 
tics about  which  they  much  busied  themselves  was  negotiated  with  native 
princes.  The  police,  the  administration  of  justice,  the  details  of  the  collec- 
tion of  revenue,  were  almost  entirely  neglected.  We  may  remark  that  the 
phraseology  of  the  Company's  ser\'ants  still  bears  the  traces  of  this  state  of 
things.  To  this  day  they  always  use  the  word  "  political''  as  synonymous 
with  "diplomatic."  We  could  name  a  gentleman  still  living  who  was 
described  by  the  highest  authority  as  an  invaluable  public  servant,  eminently 
fit  to  be  at  the  head  of  the  internal  administration  of  a  whole  presidency, 
but  unfortunately  quite  ignorant  of  all  political  business. 

The  internal  government  of  Bengal  the  English  rulers  delegated  to  a  great 
native  minister,  who  was  stationed  at  Moorshedabad.  All  military  affairs, 
and,  with  the  exception  of  what  pertains  to  mere  ceremonial,  all  foreign 


142  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH    COMPOSITIOX 

affairs,  were  withdrawn  from  his  control ;  but  the  other  departments  of  the 
administration  were  entirely  confided  to  him.  His  own  stipend  amounted 
to  near  a  hundred  thousand  pounds  sterling  a  year.  The  personal  allow- 
ance of  the  nabob,  amounting  to  more  than  three  hundred  thousand  pounds 
a  year,  passed  through  the  ministers  hands  and  was,  to  a  great  extent,  at 
his  disposal.  The  collection  of  the  revenue,  the  administration  of  justice, 
the  maintenance  of  order,  were  left  to  this  high  functionary  ;  and  for  the 
exercise  of  his  immense  power  he  was  responsible  to  none  but  the  British 
masters  of  the  country. 

A  situation  so  important,  lucrative,  and  splendid,  was  naturally  an  object 
of  ambition  to  the  ablest  and  most  powerful  natives.  Clive  had  found  it 
difficult  to  decide  between  conflicting  pretensions.  Two  candidates  stood 
out  prominently  from  the  crowd,  each  of  them  the  representative  of  a  race 
and  of  a  religion. 

One  of  these  was  Mohammed  Reza  Khan,  a  Mussulman  of  Persian 
extraction,  able,  active,  religious  after  the  fashion  of  his  people,  and  highly 
esteemed  by  them.  In  England  he  might  perhaps  have  been  regarded  as 
a  corrupt  and  greedy  politician.  But,  tried  by  the  lower  standard  of  Indian 
morality,  he  might  be  considered  as  a  man  of  integrity  and  honor. 

His  competitor  was  a  Hindoo  Brahmin  whose  name  has,  by  a  terrible 
and  melancholy  event,  been  inseparably  associated  with  that  of  Warren 
Hastings,  the  Maharajah  Nuncomar.  This  man  had  played  an  important 
part  in  all  the  revolutions  which,  since  the  time  of  Surajah  Dowlah,  had  taken 
place  in  Bengal.  To  the  consideration  which  in  that  country  belongs  to 
high  and  pure  caste,  he  added  the  weight  which  is  derived  from  wealth, 
talents,  and  experience.  —  Warren  Hastings^  Macaulay. 

The  third  paragraph  of  this  selection,  by  summarizing  in 
the  first  part  the  two  paragraphs  which  precede  it  and  by  sug- 
gesting in  the  last  part  the  trend  of  thought  to  be  developed 
in  the  two  paragraphs  to  come,  shows  the  relation  in  thought 
between  the  first  two  and  the  last  two  paragraphs  ;  i.e.,  it  is 
a  transitional  paragraph. 

SUMMARY 

A  paragraph  may  serve  one  of  four  purposes : 

1.  It  may  open  a  composition  ;  i.e.,  it  may  be  an  introductory  paragraph. 

2.  It  may  be  a  main  unit  of  the  body  of  a  composition. 


THE   PARAGRAPH 


143 


3.  It  may  serve  to  connect  two  groups  of  main  units  in  a  composition ; 

i.e.,  it  may  be  a  transitional  paragraph. 

4.  It  may  close  a  composition ;  i.e.,  it  may  be  a  concluding  or  summa- 

rizing paragraph. 

EXERCISE  UI 

1.  Find  three  selections,  each  consisting  of  several  paragraphs,  which 
together  form  a  unit. 

2.  In  each  selection,  tell  what  kind  of  paragraph  each  is,  and  give  your 
reasons  for  your  opinion. 

The  Kind  of  Ideas  needed  in  a  Paragraph.  —  Many  times, 
as  in  much  description  and  narration  and  in  some  exposi- 
tion and  argument,  the  point  which  a  paragraph  is  to  make 
of  itself  determines  the  kind  of  material  by  which  the  para- 
graph is  to  be  developed.  For  example,  in  the  selection 
from  T/ie  Iron  Womajt  on  page  137,  the  bulk  of  the  first 
paragraph  is  a  word  picture  of  the  jibcrane  at  work  ;  the  im- 
portant part  of  the  second  paragraph  is  a  mere  exclamation  ; 
the  bulk  of  the  last  paragraph  is  an  explanation  of  what 
may  be  done  with  steel.  Each  kind  of  material  is  the  only 
kind  which  could  have  brought  out  so  effectively  the 
point  of  the  particular  paragraph  in  which  it  is  found.  Fre- 
quently, however,  the  taste  of  the  speaker  or  writer  and  the 
intelligence  of  the  person  addressed  have  as  much  to  do  with 
the  kind  of  material  to  be  used  as  has  the  point  to  be  made. 
For  example,  in  inculcating  moral  principles,  like  the  duty  of 
uprightness,  the  obligation  of  unselfishness,  etc.,  a  speaker  or 
writer  must  often  exercise  great  care  in  order  to  select  the 
kind  of  material  that  will  appeal  to  the  person  addressed.  In 
every  paragraph,  however,  that  kind  of  material  which  will 
best  impress  the  point  of  the  paragraph  upon  the  person  ad- 
dressed is  the  kind  that  should  be  used. 

Methods  of  Paragraph  Development.  —  The  point  of  a  para- 
graph may  be  brought  out  by  one  of  several  methods. 


144  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

Read  the  following  paragraph,  noting  the  method  of  de- 
velopment used : 

Fishing  with  a  garden  rake  and  a  bicycle  lamp  is  not  sport,  but  it  has 
been  found  profitable  in  England,  where  fish  are  raised  for  the  market  in 
much  the  same  manner  as  pigs  or  chickens.  The  fish-cultivator  utilizes  stiff 
clay  lands,  which  are  not  valuable  for  agricultural  purposes,  and  digs  a 
number  of  rather  shallow  ponds  supplied  with  water  from  a  convenient 
stream.  These  ponds  are  stocked  with  such  coarse  fish  as  find  a  ready 
market,  —  roach,  perch,  bream,  and  eels.  The  harvesting  of  the  fish  is 
most  easily  accomplished  at  night,  the  fishing  paraphernalia  consisting  of 
an  ordinary  garden  rake,  a  good  bicycle  lamp,  or  electric  bull's  eye,  and  a 
basket.  When  the  bright  light  is  thrown  upon  the  water,  the  fish  crowd 
into  the  lighted  area  in  such  numbers  that  the  larger  ones  —  the  only  ones 
that  should  be  taken  from  the  ponds,  of  course  —  may  be  readily  raked 
ashore  and  placed  in  the  basket.  —  Anon. 

The  Use  of  Minor  Details.  —  The  method  of  developing  the 
proposition  stated  in  the  first  sentence  is  that  of  using  the 
minor  details  of  the  work,  the  only  method  that  gives  an  an- 
swer to  the  question  which  the  proposition  suggests,  "  How 
can  one  fish  with  a  garden  rake  and  a  bicycle  lamp,  let  alone 
make  money  out  of  it  ?  " 

EXERCISE  IV 

1.  Select  from  good  authors  and  bring  to  class  five  paragraphs  de- 
veloped by  minor  details. 

2.  Develop  each  of  the  following  topics  by  the  method  of  using  minor 
details : 

a.    The  Most  Beautiful  Garden  I  Ever  Saw. 
d.    Dick's  Last  Escapade. 

c.  How  I  Prepare  my  Home  Lessons. 

d.  How  to  Memorize  a  Poem. 

3.  Make  a  list  of  ten  topics  that  could  be  developed  into  good  para- 
graphs by  the  use  of  minor  details. 

4.  Develop  any  five  topics  from  your  list.  In  what  order  did  you 
arrange  your  details  ?     Why  did  that  order  seem  best  to  you  ? 


THE   PARAGRAPH  145 

Read  each  of  the  following  paragraphs,  noting  the  method 
of  development  used  : 

1 .  What  rings  truest  to  the  test  of  time  is  often  what  was  passed  over  at 
the  moment  with  neglect.  Nearly  every  one  who  heard  Lincoln  speak  at 
Gettysburg  was  disappointed  in  the  short  and  simple  oration  which  is  now 
hailed  everywhere  as  one  of  the  masterpieces  of  English  composition. 
Some  of  the  greatest  men  of  literature  suffered  shame  and  misery  at  the 
hands  of  their  fellows.  The  louder  the  acclaim  of  a  man's  contemporaries, 
the  more  haste  taken  to  do  him  honor,  the  more  fearful  should  we  be  that 
this  fame  is  not  to  endure. 

2.  Increase  of  taxation,  made  necessary  by  great  military  establish- 
ments, and  decided  gains  in  the  Socialist  vote  have  been  the  striking 
features  of  European  politics  of  late.  France,  where  the  budget  has  been 
rising  very  rapidly  in  recent  years,  now  has  a  Socialist  for  a  Prime  Minister. 
In  Germany,  where  tax  troubles  have  fairly  become  chronic,  the  fall 
elections  were  pretty  largely  carried  by  the  Socialists.  That  party  captured 
fourteen  Landtag  seats  in  Berlin  out  of  a  possible  sixteen,  twenty  districts 
in  Baden  as  against  twelve  before,  and  gained  twenty-three  districts  in 
Saxony.  In  Austria-Hungary  similar  results  have  been  seen,  while  in 
England  the  rise  of  the  Socialist  Labor  party  as  a  political  party  is  well 
known. 

The  Use  of  Examples  or  Specific  Instances.  —  In  the  first 
paragraph,  the  idea  is  developed  by  a  single  illustration  or 
example  of  the  truth  stated  in  the  first  sentence.  In  the 
second,  the  idea  stated  in  the  first  sentence  is  developed  by 
means  of  four  examples.  In  each  exposition,  the  method  of 
development  used  is  the  method  of  giving  examples,  or  specific 
instances,  the  particular  method  required  by  the  nature  of  the 
subject  to  be  explained. 

EXERCISE  V 

1.  Select  from  good  authors  and  bring  to  class  five  paragraphs  de- 
veloped by  specific  instances. 

2.  Develop  each  of  the  following  topics  into  a  good  paragraph  by  using 
specific  instances  : 

a.  The  Difficulty  of  Keeping  Good  Resolutions. 

b.  The  Benefits  of  an  Eight-Hour  Labor  Law. 


146  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

c.  Bob's  Pranks. 

d.  The  Tricks  of  the  Trade. 

e.  Handsome  is  as  Handsome  Does. 

3.  Make  a  list  often  topics  that  should  be  developed  by  using  specific 
instances. 

4.  Develop  any  five  topics  from  your  list. 

In  what  order  did  you  arrange  your  specific  instances? 
What  is  the  advantage  of  this  order? 

Notice  the  method  of  development  used  in  each  of  the  fol- 
lowing paragraphs : 

1 .  The  gods  of  the  Norseman  were  very  like  those  of  the  Ancient  Greek. 
There  is  the  same  system,  the  father  of  the  gods  and  his  satellites  great  and 
small.  Zeus  and  Woden  are  practically  the  same,  and  Haephaestus,  the 
Greek  God  of  Fire,  corresponds  to  the  great  Norse  Thor.  They  are  alike, 
too,  in  their  habit  of  visiting  the  earth  and  mingling  among  mortals,  in 
their  quarreling  and  bickering  among  themselves,  and  in  many  other 
ways. 

2.  Talent  and  genius  are  widely  different,  one  is  the  aptitude,  generally 
acquired  by  years  of  training,  for  some  thing,  as  painting  or  oratory,  the 
other  is  the  great  power,  born  with  a  person,  for  some  line  of  work  which 
makes  him,  even  without  training  infinitely  above  all  others  in  the  line  he 
has  chosen.     Talent  juay  be  acquired,  but  genius  never. 

*'  Genius  does  what  it  must,  and  talent  what  it  can." —  Meredith. 

3.  For  those  who  respond  to  the  restless  tap  of  the  Harvard  lecture 
bell  when  it  rings  for  morning  prayers,  Appleton  Chapel  shows  a  changed 
interior.  The  Appleton  Chapel  that  was  had  walls  and  windows  that  sug- 
gested coats  of  many  colors.  The  Appleton  Chapel  that  is  has  a  union  of 
dark  wood  and  cool  gray  wall  spaces  denoting  peace  and  quiet.  The 
florid  frescoes,  pews  painted  to  an  imitation  of  golden  oak  and  colored 
glass,  which  embarrassed  without  beautifying  the  light,  have  vanished. 
The  pews,  galleries,  and  wainscot  are  the  hue  of  dark  oak,  and  the  walls 
a  dull  stone  color,  equally  restful  to  the  eye.  The  panes  of  uncertain 
design  have  been  replaced  with  clouded  glass  which  freshens  the  light  of 
the  whole  interior,  and  the  hues  of  the  rose  window  over  the  chancel  have 
been  agreeably  softened.  The  interior  has  been  altered  from  a  place  of 
somew^hat  clamorous  detail  to  something  which  has,  at  least,  a  certain 
quiet  suggestion  of  worship.  —  Boston  Herald. 


THE   PARAGRAPH 


14: 


The  Use  of  Comparison.  —  In  each  of  these  paragraphs,  the 
subject  to  be  developed  is  stated  in  the  first  sentence.  In  the 
first  paragraph,  the  subject  is  developed  by  details  which  state 
definitely  six  points  of  resemblance  between  the  gods  of  the 
Norseman  and  those  of  the  Ancient  Greek.  In  the  second 
paragraph,  the  subject  is  developed  by  details  which  state  defi- 
nitely four  points  of  difference  or  co7iti'ast  between  talent  and 
genius.  In  the  third  paragraph,  the  subject  is  developed  by 
seven  details  which  state  definitely  four  points  of  difference 
between  Appleton  Chapel  as  it  was  and  as  it  is.  In  each  para- 
graph, the  method  of  development  used  is  the  method  of  com- 
parison; i.e.,  the  setting  of  two  objects  over  against  each  other 
and  pointing  out  the  respects  in  which  they  resemble  each 
other  or  the  respects  in  which  they  differ  from  each  other. 
In  each  case,  this  method  is  the  only  one  by  which  the  sub- 
ject can  be  adequately  developed. 

EXERCISE   VI 

1.  Select  from  good  authors  and  bring  to  class  three  paragraphs  devel- 
oped by  resemblances  or  differences. 

2.  Develop  each  of  the  following  topics  into  good  paragraphs  by  point- 
ing out  resemblances  or  differences  : 

a.  Our  District  To-day  and  Five  Years  Ago. 

b.  The  Dinner  I  Planned  and  the  Dinner  I  Had. 

c.  Careless  Work  and  Faithful  Work. 

d.  Motoring  and  Driving. 

e.  The  Open  Season  and  the  Closed  Season. 

f.  The  Railway  Station  at  Midday  and  at  Midnight. 

3.  Make  a  list  of  ten  subjects  which  should  be  developed  into  para- 
graphs by  pointing  out  resemblances  or  differences. 

4.  Develop  into  good  paragraphs  any  five  of  your  subjects. 
Did  you  point  out  resemblances  or  differences  .-*     Why  ? 

Study  the  following  paragraphs  for  method  of  development : 

r.  People  talk  of  liberty  as  if  it  meant  the  liberty  to  do  just  what  a  man 
likes.     I  call  that  man  free  who  fears  wrong,  but  fears  nothing  else.     1 


148  PR.\CTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

call  that  man  free  who  has  learned  the  most  blessed  of  all  truths,  —  that 
liberty  consists  in  obedience  to  the  power,  and  to  the  will,  and  to  the  law 
that  his  higher  soul  reverences  and  approves.  He  is  not  free  because  he 
does  what  he  likes ;  but  he  is  free  because  he  does  what  he  ought,  and 
there  is  no  protest  in  his  soul  against  the  doing. 

2.  Our  whole  system  of  Cabinet  relations  presents  some  anomalies. 
Our  executive  departments  are  really  business  institutions  of  the  first  mag- 
nitude. Every  two  years  and  eight  months,  on  an  average,  a  new  man 
comes  in,  usually  without  previous  experience  in  the  department  of  which 
he  is  to  assume  full  charge,  with  almost  dictatorial  powers,  and  with  no 
responsibility  for  "making  it  pay"  as  he  would  be  under  in  private  busi- 
ness life.  Sometimes  the  new  Cabinet  minister  has  been  a  successful  mer- 
chant ;  more  often  he  has  been  a  good  lawyer ;  occasionally  he  has  been  a 
commonplace  man,  with  interests  chiefly  political.  But  these  new  Cabinet 
officers  are  practically  all  alike  in  having  no  acquaintance  with  the  business 
which  they  are  called  upon  to  conduct.  If  they  were  suddenly  drafted, 
through  political  availability,  to  take  charge  of  the  largest  publishing  con- 
cern in  New  York,  or  the  largest  hotel  or  department  store,  their  training 
for  it  would  be  just  as  ample,  and  their  success  in  it  just  as  assured.  In 
these  circumstances,  the  average  Cabinet  officer  falls  a  ready  prey  to  syco- 
phants and  flatterers.  If  he  is  a  small  man,  with  an  enlarged  head,  he  is 
almost  sure  to  turn  against  the  subordinate  who  tells  him  courageously  of 
the  mistakes  he  has  made.  This  tends  to  produce  a  sort  of  survival  of  the 
unfittest  in  the  Government's  service.  —  Anon. 

The  Use  of  Repetition.  — In  each  of  these  paragraphs,  the 
subject  to  be  explained  is  stated  in  the  first  sentence.  In  the 
first  paragraph,  the  subject  is  developed  by  five  details  which 
repeat  in  various  ways  what  true  liberty  really  is.  In  the 
second  paragraph  the  subject  is  develoi)ed  by  details  which  re- 
peat in  various  ways  the  nature  of  the  anomalies  presented  by 
our  whole  system  of  Cabinet  relations.  In  each  paragraph, 
the  subject  is  developed  by  the  method  of  repetition  ;  i.e.,  the 
saying  the  same  thing  more  than  once  in  the  same  or  in  differ- 
ent words. 

EXERCISE  Vn 

I.  Select  from  good  authors  and  bring  to  class  three  paragraphs  devel- 
oped by  repetition. 


THE   PARAGRAPH 


149 


2.  Develop  into  good  paragraphs  the  following  topics  by  using  repe- 
tition : 

a.  The  Day  of  Deadly  Monotony. 

b.  The  Interminable  Wait. 

3.  Make  a  list  of  three  topics  that  could  be  developed  into  paragraphs 
by  repetition. 

4.  Develop  any  two  of  your  topics  by  repetition. 

Did  your  use  of  repetition  strengthen  or  weaken  your  thought? 
In  what  way? 

Notice  the  method  of  development  used  in  the  following 
paragraph  : 

What  are  the  essential  characteristics  of  the  spirit  of  our  [the  English] 
nation?  Not,  certainly,  an  open  and  clear  mind,  not  a  quick  and  flexible 
intelligence.  Our  greatest  admirers  would  not  claim  for  us  that  we  have 
these  in  a  preeminent  degree ;  they  might  say  that  we  had  more  of  them 
than  our  detractors  gave  us  credit  for ;  but  they  would  not  assert  them  to 
be  our  essential  characteristics.  They  would  rather  allege,  as  our  chief 
spiritual  characteristics,  energy  and  honesty  ;  and,  if  we  are  judged  favor- 
ably and  positively,  not  invidiously  and  negatively,  our  chief  characteristics 
are,  no  doubt,  these :  energy  and  honesty,  not  an  open  and  clear  mind,  not 
a  quick  and  flexible  intelligence.  —  Matthew  Arnold. 

The  Use  of  the  Obverse.  —  In  this  paragraph,  the  subject  is 
stated  in  the  first  sentence.  It  is  developed  by  nine  details, 
six  of  which  tell  what  the  spirit  of  the  English  nation  is  not, 
three  of  which  tell  what  the  spirit  of  the  English  nation  is. 
The  method  of  development  used  is  the  method  of  the  ob- 
verse;  i.e.,  the  telling  what  a  thing  is  not.  To  be  really 
strong,  the  obverse  should  be  followed,  as  in  this  case,  by  a 
positive  statement  of  what  a  thing  is. 

EXERCISE  VIII 

1 .  Bring  to  class  three  examples,  selected  from  good  authors,  of  para- 
graphs developed  by  the  obverse. 

2.  Develop  into  a  good  paragraph,  by  using  the  obverse,  each  of  the 
following  subiects  : 


150  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

a.  What  Faithful  Work  Means. 

b.  True  Courage. 

c.  True  Kindness. 

d.  Fancy  Farming. 

e.  Good  Times. 

3.  Make  a  list  of  five  subjects  that  could  be  developed  into  good  para- 
graphs by  the  obverse. 

4.  Develop  each  of  your  subjects  into  a  paragraph  by  using  the  obverse. 
In  what  way  did  the  obverse  strengthen  your  composition? 

Note  the  method  of  development  used  in  the  following 
paragraphs : 

I .  When  by  the  action  of  fire  or  wind,  or  through  the  agency  of  man, 
portions  of  forests  are  partially  or  completely  destroyed,  a  new  set  of 
conditions  is  presented  over  these  areas.  One  of  the  most  important  is 
that  light  is  admitted  where  before  towering  trees  permitted  but  a  limited 
and  characteristic  undergrowth  to  remain.  Hundreds  of  ferns,  which  for 
years  have  been  dormant,  are  now  awakened  from  their  long  sleep,  and 
new  and  recent  importations  of  seeds,  which  are  constantly  rushing  in, 
spring  into  existence  to  fill  the  gap.  multiply  their  numbers,  and  make 
more  sure  the  perpetuation  of  their  kind.  —  Lessons  in  Botany,  Atkinson. 
2.  General  Howe  was  quite  well  satisfied  with  what  he  had  done.  He 
had  defeated  Washington  at  Brandywine,  repulsed  him  at  Germantown, 
taken  the  forts  on  the  Delaware,  and  was  in  possession  of  Philadelphia. 
Reenforcements  were  on  their  way  from  England,  his  army  was  in  good 
condition,  while  Washington's  was  growing  weaker.  Many  of  the  citizens 
of  Philadelphia  had  welcomed  him  with  open  arms  as  their  deliverer,  while 
the  farmers  of  the  surrounding  country  hailed  him  with  favor,  for  he  had 
British  gold,  which  he  was  ready  to  pay  for  their  garden  sauce,  butter, 
cheese,  eggs,  cattle,  and  horses.  —  The  Boys  of ''76,  Charles  C.  Coffin. 

The  Use  of  Cause  and  Effect.  —  In  each  of  these  paragraphs, 
the  subject  is  stated  in  the  first  sentence.  In  the  first  paragraph, 
the  subject  is  developed  by  five  details,  which  state  the  effects  or 
results  which  follow  from  the  cause  stated  in  the  first  sentence. 
In  the  second  paragraph,  the  subject  is  developed  by  eleven 
details,  which  state  the  causes  of  the  effect  or  result  stated 
in  the  first  sentence.      In  each  paragraph,  the  method  used  to 


THE    PARAGRAPH  151 

develop  the  subject  is  the  method  of  giving  details  which 
stand  in  the  relation  of  cause  and  effect.  As  shown  in 
the  two  paragraphs  given,  sometimes  the  cause  is  stated 
first,  and  is  followed  by  a  statement  of  the  effect,  and 
sometimes  the  effect  is  stated  first,  and  is  followed  by  a  state- 
ment of  the  cause. 

EXERCISE   IX 

1.  Select  from  good  authors,  and  bring  to  class  three  paragraphs  de- 
veloped by  details  that  stand  in  the  relation  of  cause  and  effect. 

2.  Develop  into  a  good  paragraph  by  using  details  that  stand  in  the 
relation  of  cause  and  effect  each  of  the  following  subjects  : 

a.  What  happens  when  the  trigger  of  a  loaded  gun  is  pulled. 

b.  Why  you  came  to  the  high  school. 

c.  Why  my  father's  impressions  of  school  athletics  are  incorrect. 

d.  How  an  alarm  clock  works. 

3.  Develop  into  good  paragraphs,  by  using  details  that  stand  in  the  re- 
lation of  cause  and  effect,  live  subjects  of  your  own  choice. 

What  Method  to  Use.  —  In  a  paragraph  which  is  mainly 
descriptive  or  narrative  in  nature,  the  method  of  giving  the 
more  minute  essential  details  is  always  one  of  the  methods 
of  development  used,  and  is  perhaps  the  only  one.  The 
method  of  comparison,  however,  is  often  combined  with  it.  In 
a  paragraph  that  is  expository  in  nature,  one  method  of  de- 
velopment is  as  commonly  used  as  another ;  while  in  a  para- 
graph that  is  argumentative  in  nature,  though  any  method 
of  development  may  be  used,  the  methods  of  giving  specific 
instances  or  examples  of  comparison,  and  of  giving  details 
which  stand  in  the  relation  of  cause  and  effect,  are  used  most 
commonly.  Whenever  no  one  method  will  develop  a  paragraph 
properly,  two  or  more  methods  may  be  used  successively. 

EXERCISE    X 

Bring  to  class  three  paragraphs  in  each  of  which  at  least  two  methods  of 
paragraph  development  have  been  used  successively. 


152  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

SUMMARY 

The  method  used  to  develop  paragraphs  may  be  the  giving  of  minor 
details,  the  use  of  specific  instances,  the  pointing  out  of  resemblances  or 
of  differences  in  objects,  the  repeating  of  ideas,  the  telling  what  a  thing 
is  not,  and  then  what  it  is,  or  the  giving  of  cause  and  result,  or  it  may  be 
a  combination  of  two  or  more  of  these  methods. 

The  Topic  Sentence.  — Just  as  the  whole  composition  should 
have  at  the  beginning  a  paragraph  which  indicates  the  subject, 
limits  its  scope,  and  suggests  in  a  general  way  the  point  of 
the  whole  composition,  so,  often,  the  paragraph  is  better  for 
having  at  or  near  the  beginning  a  sentence  which  indicates 
the  point  that  the  paragraph  is  to  make.  Such  a  sentence  is 
called  the  topic  sentence  of  the  paragraph.  While  in  the  best 
paragraphs  this  sentence  is  either  the  first  or  the  second  sen- 
tence, it  sometimes  appears  later  in  the  paragraph  and  oc- 
casionally is  only  suggested,  not  expressed. 

Read  the  following  selections,  noticing  the  topic  sen- 
tence : 

I .  The  propositioti  to  bring  the  governors  of  the  States  together  once  a 
y ear ^  for  a  conference  on  matters  pertaining  to  the  States  as  a  whole,  has 
much  to  commetid  it.  To  be  sure,  they  have  no  power  to  make  laws  or  to 
do  things  outside  the  line  of  their  duties,  but  it  can  readily  be  understood 
that  such  a  conference  would  tend  toward  a  more  perfect  union,  for  they 
could  make  recommendations  to  their  Legislatures  that  would  be  productive 
of  good.  The  States  are  not  as  much  alike  as  they  might  be.  Customs 
vary,  and  what  might  be  good  public  policy  in  one  State  would  not  be 
practicable  in  another.  State  Sovereignty  and  National  Unity  have  been 
antagonistic  ever  since  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution,  and  annual 
assemblings  of  the  governors  might  have  a  tendency  to  reduce  the  friction 
and  accomplish  a  more  perfectly  adjusted  condition.  There  are  many 
things  of  common  concern  that  would  furnish  topics  for  consideration,  and 
their  discussion  during  the  session  of  the  "  House  of  Governors,"  as  it  is 
proposed  to  name  it,  could  not  fail  to  be  productive  of  good.  There  has 
been  one  such  meeting  and  possibly  more,  and  to  repeat  the  experiment 
would  do  no  harm.  —  Boston  Herald. 


THE    PARAGRAPH  1 53 

The  Boy  in  the  Mine 

2.  After  the  explosion  in  the  mine  at  Cherry,  Illinois,  among  the  first  of 
the  dead  bodies  brought  to  the  surface  were  those  of  boys  under  sixteen 
years  of  age.  Had  the  presence  of  such  boys  in  the  mine  anything  to  do 
with  the  cause  of  the  disaster?  Those  who  have  worked  in  coal  mines  and 
have  intelligently  thought  about  the  matter  are  strongly  convinced  that 
lack  of  skill  and  proper  training  in  the  miners  themselves  is  a  fruitful  cause 
of  accidents.  Boys  under  sixteen  years  of  age  cannot  have  the  skill,  the 
training,  or  the  judgment  of  their  elders.  They  take  chances  that  a  grown 
man  would  regard  as  foolhardy.  They  are  often  reckless  and  irresponsible. 
Such  a  law  as  that  of  Illinois  which  forbids  the  employment  of  boys  under 
sixteen  years  of  age  in  the  mines  is  a  safeguard  not  only  to  the  boys  but 
also  to  all  the  mine  workers.  It  has  long  been  established  that  in  all 
dangerous  occupations  accidents  to  children  form  a  much  larger  percentage 
than  accidents  to  adults.  It  might  almost  be  regarded  as  a  corollary  that 
accidents  caused  by  children  form  a  larger  percentage  than  those  caused 
by  adults.  There  is  thus  good  ground  for  raising  the  question  whether 
this  accident  at  Cherry,  Illinois,  might  not  be  due  to  the  employment  of 
boys.  —  Lynn  I  ton. 

3.  Only  ten  years  ago  the  death-rate  in  the  United  States  was  seven- 
teen and  six  tenths  per  thousand  inhabitants.  According  to  the  latest 
census  bulletin,  it  is  now  fifteen  and  four  tenths.  The  same  remarkable 
phenomenon  is  to  be  observed  in  European  countries  as  well.  Thirty 
years  ago  the  death-rate  in  England  was  twenty-one  and  three  tenths ; 
ten  years  ago  it  had  fallen  to  eighteen  and  two  tenths;  last  year  it  was 
only  fourteen  and  seven  tenths.  In  Germany  it  has  fallen  from  twenty- 
seven  to  less  than  twenty.  These  figures  are  impressive  evidence  of  the 
progress  that  the  world  is  snaking  in  fighting  disease.  The  discovery  of 
the  bacterial  character  of  many  diseases  and  the  consequently  improved 
method  of  treatment  and  of  preventive  hygiene  have  done  much  to 
lengthen  man's  days  upon  the  earth. — Anon. 

4.  An  alderman  of  New  Haven,  reading  the  report  of  the  truant  officers 
that  many  children  could  not  be  expected  to  attend  school  because  in- 
sufficiently nourished,  decided  that  he  could  do  something  to  relieve  the 
situation,  and  sent  word  round  the  neighborhood  that,  if  any  were  going 
to  school  hungry,  they  must  first  come  to  his  house  for  a  "square  meal."' 
In  the  first  batch  fifty  responded;  yet,  at  last  accounts,  the  invitation  had 
not  been  withdrawn,  and  it  still  stands,  "Come  over  and  get  a  square 
meal  and  not  miss  school."     This  is  fine  for  poor  boys  and  girls,  but  it 


154  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

staggers  imagination  to  picture  the  flatness  of  the  alderman's  pocket  book 
if  his  words  were  taken  literally  and  without  the  implied  qualification  of 
inability  to  procure  food  elsewhere.  — Anon. 

In  the  first  paragraph,  the  first  sentence  is  the  topic  sen- 
tence ;  in  the  second  paragraph,  the  second  sentence  is  the 
topic  sentence  ;  in  the  third  paragraph,  the  topic  is  expressed 
in  the  last  half  of  the  sixth  sentence ;  while  in  the  fourth  para- 
graph no  topic  sentence  is  expressed,  though  the  topic  sen- 
tence, Say  exactly  wJiat  you  mean,  is  very  clearly  impHed. 

Ordinarily,  as  indicated  above,  the  topic  sentence  of  a 
paragraph  should  come  at  the  beginning  of  the  paragraph. 
Sometimes,  however,  it  may  come  later  in  the  paragraph  or 
it  may  be  omitted  entirely.  If,  however,  by  any  chance  it  is 
omitted,  the  ideas  of  the  paragraph  must  be  so  presented  as 
to  imply  the  topic  sentence  so  clearly  that  it  cannot  be  mis- 
understood. 

The  Order  of  Details  in  a  Paragraph.  —  The  order  in  which 
details  are  arranged  in  a  paragraph  that  is  part  of  a  larger 
composition  depends,  of  course,  upon  the  nature  of  the  sub- 
ject matter  of  the  paragraph  and  also  upon  the  part  that 
the  paragraph  is  to  perform  in  the  development  of  the 
whole  composition.  For  example,  it  may  become  neces- 
sary at  a  given  point  in  a  composition  that  consists  of  a 
number  of  paragraphs  to  give  illustrations  of  the  working 
of  some  principle.  A  paragraph  of  specific  instances  natu- 
rally follows.  The  order  in  which  the  instances  are  given 
will  depend  on  whether  it  is  necessary  at  that  point  in  the 
composition  to  catch  the  attention  of  the  persons  addressed 
by  placing  the  strongest  instance  first  or  to  drive  home  the 
point  by  placing  the  strongest  instance  last.  There  must  be 
in  every  paragraph,  however,  a  definite  arrangement  of  de- 
tails, which  makes  each  new  detail  give  added  clearness  and 
added  strength  to  the  main  idea  of  the  paragraph. 


THE    PARAGRAPH  1 55 

Coherence  within  the  Paragraph.  —  It  is  not  enough  that 
the  ideas  of  a  paragraph  be  arranged  in  coherent  order ;  the 
ideas  must  be  so  expressed  as  to  knit  together  the  parts  of 
the  paragraph. 

Read  the  following  selection  : 

Soon  after  six,  in  the  dark  of  the  January  morning,  the  big  bell 
clangs  with  rapid  stroke  :  a  crowd  of  boys  in  the  Home  Hail  scuffle  and 
romp  from  their  rooms,  hurrying  down  to  the  hot  shower.  In  lines  of 
three  they  steam  along  under  the  pouring  water,  and  then  one  by  one  stand 
to  the  icy  spray.  Of  a  sudden  a  door  is  pulled  open,  and  a  valiant  half- 
dozen  of  them  tear  with  a  yell  out  into  the  freezing  morning,  and  plunge, 
pink-skinned,  into  a  huge  snowbank.  Back  they  come  instanter,  stamping 
off  the  great  melting  flakes.  They  quickly  rub  dry.  and  those  who  have 
been  the  first  down  have  ten  spare  minutes  to  squat  in  their  dressing- 
gowns  and  blink  at  the  new-kindled,  crackling  wood  fire  in  the  master's 
welcoming  study.  —  The  School  with  a  Clear  Aim,  Carr. 

In  the  second  sentence,  the  word  tkey  refers  to  a  crowd  of 
boys  mentioned  in  the  first  sentence,  and  so  knits  the  second 
sentence  to  the  first ;  the  word  then  knits  the  second  part  of 
the  second  sentence  to  the  first  part  by  indicating  that  some- 
thing is  to  follow  as  a  result  of  the  act  related  in  the  first  part 
of  the  second  sentence,  while  the  words  one  by  one  accomplish 
a  similar  result  by  showing  that  the  same  individuals  perform 
the  resulting  act.  The  words  of  a  sudden,  in  the  third  sen- 
tence, suggest  a  quick  change  of  action,  while  the  word  them, 
which  occurs  later  in  the  same  sentence,  knits  the  thought  of 
the  third  sentence  to  that  of  the  second  by  showing  that  in- 
dividuals from  the  same  set  of  boys  performed  the  new  action 
recounted.  Similarly,  the  words  back  and  they  knit  the  fourth 
sentence  to  the  third,  and  the  words  they,  those,  and  their  knit 
the  fifth  sentence  to  the  fourth. 

Elements  which  give  Coherence.  —  The  words  which  help  to 
knit  the  sentences  of  the  selection  given  above  together  hap- 
pen- tq.be  personal  pronouns,  adverbs,  an  adverbial  phrase,  an 


y 


156  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

adjective  pronoun,  and  a  demonstrative  pronoun.  Other 
classes  of  words  commonly  used  are  conjunctions,  relative 
pronouns,  and  nouns  that  repeat  at  intervals  the  name  of  the 
subject  that  is  being  discussed. 

Coherence  between  Paragraphs. — Whenever  a  composition 
consists  of  a  number  of  paragraphs,  the  order  of  the  para- 
graphs should  be  the  order  which  will  contribute  to  coherence 
and  emphasis  in  the  whole  composition. 

In  a  long  composition,  it  often  happens  that  several  sen- 
tences are  required  to  state  the  subject,  limit  its  scope,  and 
indicate  in  a  general  way  the  point  to  be  made.  When 
several  sentences  are  required  for  this  purpose,  they  together 
form  the  opening  or  fundamental  paragraph.  The  paragraphs 
which  follow  must  develop,  in  the  order  best  suited  to  impress 
the  person  or  persons  addressed,  the  ideas  essential  to  an  un- 
derstanding of  the  main  idea  of  the  whole  composition. 

Transitional  Elements.  —  In  order  that  coherence  between 
paragraphs  shall  be  evident,  the  content  of  each  paragraph 
should  be  summarized  in  its  final  sentence,  and  there  should 
be  in  one  place  or  another,  to  show  connection  between  para- 
graphs, a  transitional  element,  i.e.,  an  element  which  pre- 
pares in  some  way  for  the  ideas  about  to  be  given.  The 
transitional  element  may  be  a  word  or  a  group  of  words  in 
the  final  sentence  of  the  first  of  two  paragraphs ;  or  it  may 
be  a  word  or  a  group  of  words  in  the  opening  sentence 
of  the  second  of  two  paragraphs  and  refer  to  ideas  in  the 
paragraph  just  completed  ;  or  it  may  be  an  entire  sentence, 
or  even  an  entire  paragraph. 

Examine  the  following  selections  for  transitional  elements : 

I.  Count  Katsura  received  me  pleasantly,  and,  after  a  few  courteous 
inquiries  with  regard  to  my  voyage  across  the  Pacific,  looked  again  at  my 
letter  of  introduction,  and  said  : 

<'  Baron  Takahira  tells  me,  Mr.   Kennan,  that  it  is  your  intention  to 


THE   PARAGRAPH  157 

write  about  Japan.  Now  I  hope  that  when  you  do,  you'll  describe  things 
as  they  are,  and  especially  things  that  seem  to  you  bad.  Most  travelers 
who  come  here  praise  us  too  much  and  with  too  little  discrimination. 
Three  fourths  of  them  try  to  make  it  appear  that  Japan  is  a  sort  of  fairy- 
land of  picturesque  scenery,  beautiful  geisha  girls,  fascinating  tea  houses, 
wonderful  flowers,  men  who  are  never  discourteous,  women  who  are  never 
immodest,  and  babies  that  never  cry.  Now  that  sort  of  thing  doesn't  do 
any  good,  and,  besides,  it  isn't  wholly  true.  If  you  want  to  write  some- 
thing that  will  be  useful  and  helpful  in  Japan  as  well  as  in  America,  wait 
until  you  have  been  here  long  enough  to  form  accurate  opinions,  and  then 
write  about  things  that  are  of  some  consequence.  And,  above  all,  don't 
hesitate  to  say  that  things  are  bad  when  they  seem  to  you  bad,  and  when 
you  have  studied  them  enough  to  know  why  they  are  bad.  If  you  do  this, 
your  work  will  be  useful  to  us,  and  perhaps  it  won't  be  any  less  interest- 
ing in  America." 

I  was  not  a  little  surprised  and  taken  aback  by  this  frank  advice  from 
the  Prime  Minister,  but  I  thanked  him  for  it  sincerely,  and  said  that,  al- 
though I  feared  I  should  make  a  good  many  blunders,  I  would  try  hard  to 
see  things  aright,  and,  at  any  rate,  would  never  call  a  bad  spade  a  useful 
agricultural  implement,  just  out  of  courtesy.  —  The  Outlook^  Kennan. 

In  this  selection,  the  first  paragraph,  which  develops  Mr. 
Kennan's  reception  by  Count  Katsura,  is  made  coherent  with 
the  second  paragraph,  which  develops  the  advice  given  to 
Mr.  Kennan  by  the  Count,  by  the  transitional  element,  aiid 
said,  which  occurs  in  the  final  sentence  of  the  first  para- 
graph. The  third  paragraph,  which  develops  the  effect  of 
the  Count's  advice  upon  Mr.  Kennan,  is  made  coherent  with 
the  second  paragraph  by  the  transitional  element,  by  this 
frank  advice  frojji  the  Prime  Minister,  which  occurs  in  the 
first  sentence  of  the  third  paragraph. 

2.  If  the  man  who  discovered  the  North  Pole  were  to  trv  to  find  it 
again,  it  is  not  likely  that  he  would  locate  it  exactly  in  the  same  spot. 
Absolute  or  even  relative  fixity  of  position  is  unknown  in  the  universe,  and 
the  poles  of  the  earth  are  no  exceptions  to  the  rule.  Long  ago  it  was 
suspected  that  minute  changes  of  latitude  were  occurring.  In  other  words, 
New  York  and  Paris  were  varying  in  position.     Only  in  recent  years,  how- 


158  PRACTICAL   EXCiLISH    COMPOSITION 

ever,  has  any  definite  proof  of  that  supposition  been  forthcoming.  When 
the  announcement  was  first  made  by  Doctor  Kustner,  of  the  Royal  Ob- 
servatory of  Berlin,  an  international  investigation  was  set  on  foot.  We 
now  know  that  the  pole  wobbles  in  a  slight  but  perceptible  way,  that  the 
wobbling  is  periodic,  and  that  as  a  consequence  the  latitudes  of  places  on 
one  side  of  the  earth  are  regularly  increasing,  while  those  on  the  opposite 
side  are  simultaneously  diminishing. 

A  brilliant  American  astronomer,  Dr.  S.  C.  Chandler,  made  a  special 
study  of  this  motion  of  the  pole.  He  collected  an  immense  mass  of  evi- 
dence, involving  the  reduction  of  more  than  thirty-three  thousand  observa- 
tions, which  were  made  by  nine  different  methods,  and  which  comprised 
the  work  of  seventeen  Northern  and  Southern  observatories  for  about  one 
hundred  and  seventy-two  years.  He  showed  that  the  pole  has  two  fluc- 
tuations, the  one  having  a  period  of  four  hundred  and  twenty-seven  days, 
and  the  other  a  period  of  seven  years,  and  that  the  variation  in  latitude  of 
a  given  place  amounts  to  about  thirty  or  forty  feet. 

What's  the  practical  good  of  the  discovery?     Simply  this  : 

If  the  axis  of  the  earth  is  executing  small  oscillations,  the  liquid  ocean 
should  feel  the  wobble.  The  effect  is  a  rise  and  fall  of  only  a  few  inches, 
but  still  unmistakable  evidence  that  the  earth,  so  far  from  spinning  smoothly, 
has  that  unbalanced  vibration  felt  by  passengers  on  an  imperfectly  engi- 
neered twin-screw  steamer.  Earthquakes  are  more  numerous  at  the  time 
when  the  vibration  is  greatest.  The  vibration  waxes  and  wanes  much  as 
that  of  the  steamer  waxes  and  wanes  if  the  twin  screws  are  not  running 
quite  together.  On  the  steamer  breakages  are  more  numerous  during  the 
times  of  vigorous  oscillation.  In  a  similar  way  the  little  cracks  of  the 
earth's  skin,  which  we  call  great  earthquakes,  are  more  numerous  when 
these  unbalanced  vibrations  are  at  their  maximum  — that  is  to  say,  about 
once  every  seven  years. 

Hence  it  is  rather  interesting  to  note  that  the  severe  earthquakes  of 
1906  occurred  soon  after  the  time  of  maximum  activity  of  the  pole. 
Clearly,  we  are  in  a  fair  way  toward  establishing  an  earthquake-forecasting 
service  —  all  because  we  discovered  that  the  pole  is  wandering. 

—  Leslie's  Magazine. 

In  this  selection,  the  second  paragraph  is  made  coherent 
with  the  first  paragraph  by  the  transitional  element,  this 
niotio7i  of  the  pole,  which  occurs  in  the  first  sentence  of  the 
second  paragraph.     The  third  paragraph  is  made  coherent 


THE    PARAGRAPH 


159 


with  the  second  paragraph  by  the  transitional  element,  made 
up  of  the  full  sentence  and  the  abbreviated  or  elHptical 
sentence,  Whafs  the  practical  good  of  the  discovery  ?  Simply 
this.  The  fourth  paragraph  is  made  coherent  with  the  third 
paragraph  by  the  transitional  element,  he7ice,  which  occurs  in 
the  first  sentence  of  the  fourth  paragraph. 

Whatever  form  the  transitional  element  may  take,  whether 
it  be  a  word,  a  phrase,  a  clause,  a  sentence,  or  an  entire 
paragraph,  and  whether  it  be  placed  in  the  final  sentence  of 
the  first  of  two  paragraphs  or  in  the  first  sentence  of  the  sec- 
ond of  two  paragraphs,  a  transitional  element  of  some  kind 
there  must  be  to  mark  the  coherence  of  thought  between 
every  two  paragraphs  of  a  composition. 

The  Order  of  Paragraphs.  —  In  order  that  the  paragraphs 
of  a  composition  may  give  due  emphasis  to  the  main  point  of 
the  entire  composition,  paragraphs  which  develop  important 
ideas  should,  of  course,  be  placed  at  the  beginning  and  at  the 
end.  The  force  of  a  composition  is  greatly  increased  by  a 
final  paragraph  which  summarizes  briefly  the  most  essential 
points  of  the  composition. 

Paragraph  Indention.  —  In  written  composition  the  first  line 
of  every  paragraph  is  indented  beyond  the  regular  page  mar- 
gin, in  order  that  the  reader  may  the  more  readily  grasp 
the  thought  developed  in  any  single  paragraph,  may  realize 
when  a  new  point  is  to  be  brought  forward,  and  may  get  the 
various  paragraphs  in  proper  perspective. 

The  Outline.  —  When  a  composition  of  any  length  is  to  be 
prepared,  an  outUne  or  skeleton  of  the  composition  should  first 
be  made.  The  simplest  form  of  outline  is  an  enumeration  in 
order  of  the  points  to  be  made  by  each  paragraph  and  of  the 
main  details  to  be  developed  in  each. 

Compare  the  following  outlines : 


l6o  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

A 

L    Executive  department  of  the  United  States. 

A.  The  Presidency : 

1.  Qualifications  for  the  office. 

2.  The  term  of  office. 

B.  Powers  and  duties  of  the  President  ; 

1.  As  a  commander  in  chief. 

2.  In  respect  to  reprieves  and  pardons. 

3.  In  respect  to  treaties  with  foreign  powers. 

4.  In  respect  to  the  appointment  of  federal  officers. 

5.  In  respect  to  summoning  and  adjourning  Congress. 

6.  In  respect  to  reporting  the  state  of  affairs  in  the  country  to 

Congress. 
a.   The  President's  message  : 

(i)    The  effectiveness  of  the  message. 

(2)  Power  and  responsibility  in  the  English  system. 

(3)  Power  and  responsibility  in  the  American  system. 

C.  Executive  departments  : 

1.  The  departments  under  Washington. 

2.  Later  additions  to  the  departments. 

3.  The  "  Cabinet." 

a.   The  resemblance  between  the  English  cabinet  and  our 

own. 
d.   The  difference  between  the  English  cabinet  and  our  own. 
c.   Members. 

(i)    The  secretary  of  state  : 
(a)    Duties : 

(i)    As  administrator  of  diplomatic  and  consular 
service. 

(2)  As  keeper  of  national  archives  and  of  seal  of 

the  United  States. 

(3)  As   superintendent   of    the    publication   of 

laws,  treaties,  and  proclamations. 

(2)  The  secretary  of  the  treasury  : 
(a)  His  rank  and  importance. 
(d)    His  various  duties. 

(c)    His  chief  assistants. 

(3)  The  secretary  of  war ; 
(^7)    His  duties. 


THE   PARAGRAPH  i6l 


(4) 

The 

secretary  of  the  navy  : 

(^) 

His  duties. 

(5) 

The 

secretary  of  the  interior: 

(^) 

His  duties. 

(6) 

The 

postmaster-general : 

(^) 

His  duties. 

(7) 

The 

attorney-general : 

(^) 

His  duties. 

(8) 

The 

secretary  of  commerce  and  labor : 

(^) 

His  duties. 

II.   Conclusion:  Summary. 

Force  cannot  be  used  successfully  against  the  American  people  ;  for  — 
I.   They  are  ardent  lovers  of  liberty,  because 

a.  They  are  descendants  of  Englishmen  and  possess  English 

traits. 
(i)    They  emigrated  when  the  spirit  of  liberty  was  highest. 

(2)  The  English  were  always  tender  on  taxation. 

(3)  The  Colonies  are  tender  on  the  same  point. 

b.  Their  form  of  legislature  fosters  liberty. 

c.  Religion  in  the  North  fosters  liberty. 
(i)    They  are  Protestants,  and, 

(2)    They  are  mainly  dissenters  from  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land. 

d.  The  presence  of  slavery  in  the  South  fosters  the  spirit  of 

liberty  among  the  free. 

e.  Their   education,  especially  in  law,  fosters  the   spirit  of 

liberty. 

f.  Their  distance  from  the  governing  power  has  like  effect. 

The  first  outline  is  that  of  a  composition  on  "  The  Execu 
tive  Department  of  the  United  States."  It  consists  of  a  list 
of  topics,  each  topic  suggesting  the  kind  of  material  to  be 
used  and  the  kind  of  point  to  be  made.  The  position  of  the 
topic  in  the  outline  indicates  at  what  place  in  the  composition 
the  topic  is  to  be  developed  and  what  proportion  of  time  or 
space  is  to  be  given  to  it. 


l62  PRACTICAL    ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

The  advantage  of  an  outline  of  this  type  is  that  it  indicates 
clearly  the  ground  to  be  covered  and  the  amount  and  the  kind 
of  material  to  be  used.  Its  disadvantage  is  that  it  does  not 
give  the  exact  points  to  be  made. 

Such  an  outHne  is  a  topical  outline  or  a  synopsis. 

The  second  outline  is  that  of  a  section  of  Burke's  **  Speech 
on  Conciliation  with  the  American  Colonies."  It  consists  of 
a  series  of  statements,  each  statement  giving  briefly  the  exact 
thought  to  be  impressed.  The  position  of  a  statement  in  the 
outline  shows  at  what  point  it  is  to  be  introduced  into  the  com- 
position and  what  degree  of  emphasis  it  is  to  receive. 

The  advantage  of  an  outline  of  this  type  is  that  it  is  a  digest 
of  the  composition  ;  that  is,  it  gives  the  gist  of  the  composition. 
Its  disadvantage  is  that  it  does  not  indicate  the  exact  material 
to  be  used. 

Such  an  outline  is  a  syllabus. 

The  Practical  Value  of  the  Outline.  —  The  value  of  an  out- 
Hne lies  in  the  fact  that  it  enables  the  person  who  prepares 
it  to  see  at  a  glance  whether  or  not  he  has  introduced  all  the 
details  essential  to  the  development  of  the  subject,  whether 
he  has  introduced  any  unessential  details  or  digressions, 
whether  he  has  arranged  details  in  the  most  desirable  order, 
and  whether  he  has  given  the  proper  position  and  the  due 
amount  of  time  or  space  to  the  most  important  ideas. 

EXERCISE    XI 

Study  the  following  selections  : 

I.  America  is,  above  everything  else,  a  business  nation.  Especially  dur- 
ing the  last  quarter  of  a  century  the  business  development  has  exceeded  the 
wildest  dreams  of  the  most  sanguine  financiers.  We  are  proud  of  the 
reputation  we  have  achieved.  We  extol  our  captains  of  industry;  we 
exult  in  our  wonderful  mechanical  devices,  in  our  superior  methods  of 
transportation,  in  our  enormous  factories  ;  we  reward  with  fame  and  for- 
tune the  mind  that  is  capable  of  outlining  a  new  scheme  to  add  to  oui 


TITF.    PARAGRAPH  163 

prosperity.  We  have  a  commercial  output  of  which  we  talk  much  ;  we 
rejoice  in  our  unexplored  resources.  We,  as  a  nation,  have  developed 
from  the  land  enormous  wealth  ;  we  are  the  richest  nation  in  the  world. 
All  this  sounds  like  good  business. 

Yet  it  is  not  money  which  makes  the  heart  of  a  nation.  It  is  life —  the 
sturdy,  rugged  manhood  of  her  citizens.  Ayid  life  is  the  cheapest  com- 
modity of  America !  '  ' 

We  crush  it  in  the  thoroughfares ;  we  annihilate  it  in  railroad  wrecks ; 
we  grind  it  down  to  a  worthless  existence  in  the  deadly  monotony  of  ill- 
paid  labor.  We  starve  it  without  compunction  —  unless  a  particular 
example  happens  to  shock  our  sensibilities  ;  we  expose  it  to  infectious  and 
loathsome  diseases.  We  buy  it  at  a  dollar  a  day  and  reserve  the  right  to 
abuse  it  after  purchase.  We  cage  it  in  foul  places ;  we  expose  it  to 
the  extremes  of  weather;  we  drive  it  to  its  utmost  endurance  until, 
enfeebled,  it  is  but  a  shadow  of  its  real  self. 

This  is  poor  business  —  mighty  poor  business. 

What  might  the  power  of  America  be,  think  you,  if  to-day  life  should 
receive  its  rights ;  eighty  millions  of  well  creatures  made  in  the  image  of 
their  creator,  free  from  disease,  free  from  fear,  daring  to  let  the  God-spark 
within  them  develop  into  its  full  maturity? 

The  business  of  a  nation  is  the  making  of  me)i .  It  has  no  other.  No 
industry,  no  masterpiece,  no  across-the-continent  flyer,  no  amount  of  wealth, 
is  worth  one  iota  unless  it  makes  for  the  benefit  of  all  mankind. 

We  have  gone  far  in  the  path  of  commercial  progress ;  we  can  well 
afford  to  take  time  to  catch  up  in  another.  A  badly  balanced  business  is  a 
bad  business,  and  when  dollars  and  cents  weigh  more  than  human  life, 
there  is  something  wrong  with  the  balance. 

Not  until  the  health  of  her  people  is  of  equal  concern  with  the  interests 
of  industry  and  commerce  can  America  deserve  a  reputation  as  a  business 
nation.  —  Anon. 

2.  A  printing  company,  operating  in  a  five-story  building,  employed  a 
Japanese  watchman.  He  had  instructions  to  stay  with  the  plant,  no 
matter  what  happened  —  to  stay  always  until  relieved.  The  earthquake 
found  him  on  the  top  floor,  where  the  heaviest  presses  were  set.  He 
stayed  with  the  job.  Morning  broke  ;  fires  sprang  up  from  all  four 
quarters  of  the  horizon.  Still  he  stayed  with  the  job.  A  fire  came  his 
way  and  a  corner  of  the  building  caught.  He  satisfied  himself  that  the 
stairs  were  clear,  and  settled  down  to  wait  until  his  quarters  became  too 
hot.     Suddenly  the  floor  sagged.     Weakened  by  the  shock  and  the  fire,  it 


1 64  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

was  giving  way  under  the  heavy  presses.  The  Japanese  skipped  down  to 
the  fourth  floor.  The  presses  came  after  him.  Floor  by  floor,  as  he  fled, 
the  presses  followed  from  above  ;  he  got  out  of  the  building  a  quarter  of  a 
second  before  that  junk  shop  of  metal  landed  in  the  cellar. 

One  of  his  employers  was  in  a  hospital  with  typhoid  fever.  That 
hospital  lay  in  the  fire  track  ;  the  nurses  and  doctors  carried  the  patients 
to  a  house  on  the  outskirts  of  the  city.  *  To  the  bedside  of  the  typhoid 
patient  crept  that  afternoon  a  Japanese  of  sea-green  complexion. 

"  I  am  sorry  to  say,"  he  reported,  "  that  the  presses  have  emerged  to  the 
ground  as  the  result  of  a  conflagration  !  "  —  Success. 

3.  Four  big  banks  in  the  Wall  Street  district  resemble  the  great  gold 
mines  of  the  West  in  one  striking  feature.  They  have  three  eight-hour 
shifts  of  toilers  and  the  work  never  stops.  One  set  takes  up  the  routine 
where  the  other  leaves  off.  All  night  long,  Sundays,  and  holidays,  a  staff 
of  men  in  each  of  these  banks  is  busy  opening  thousands  of  letters,  sorting 
and  listing  innumerable  checks  and  drafts  that  represent  fabulous  sums  of 
money,  and  getting  them  ready  for  the  day  force,  which  is  the  only  one 
the  public  comes  in  contact  with  or  ever  hears  about.  If  this  work  was 
not  carried  on  incessantly,  the  banks  would  soon  be  overwhelmed  with  a 
mountainous  accumulation  of  detail. 

Two  shifts  —  the  "scouting  force,"  as  they  call  themselves  —  work  be- 
tween five  in  the  afternoon  and  nine  the  next  morning.  Each  bank  has  a 
big  drawer  in  the  General  Post  Ofiice.  Messengers  clear  this  of  its 
letters  every  hour  all  night  long.  Three  thousand  letters  a  day  is  the 
average  mail  of  one  of  these  large  banks.  Two  thirds  of  it  comes  in 
during  the  night.  These  letters,  in  the  case  of  one  of  the  biggest  of  these 
banks,  contain  from  35,000  to  40,000  checks  and  drafts.  At  times  these 
inclosures  represent  as  much  as  $30,000,000.  Rarely  does  the  total  fall 
below  $20,000,000. 

The  letters  are  opened  as  fast  as  they  are  received,  the  checks  are 
counted,  and  the  totals  verified  with  the  footings  of  the  lists.  The  letters 
are  then  stamped,  which  shows  that  they  have  been  "proven  in,"  as  the 
banks  call  it.  After  that  they  are  turned  over  to  the  clerks  who  send  out 
the  formal  acknowledgments  of  the  remittances  they  contain.  The  various 
checks  are  assorted  according  to  the  numbers  of  the  books  in  which  they 
are  to  be  entered  and  otherwise  ;  the  sight  drafts  are  grouped  according  to 
the  routes  of  the  bank's  messengers,  and  all  is  made  ready  for  turning  the 
night's  accumulation  over  to  the  day  force,  so  it  may  be  handled  by  it  as 
expeditiously  as  possible. 


THE   PARAGRAPH  165 

Each  of  these  shifts  of  night  workers  at  the  banks  consists  of  from 
twelve  to  twenty  men.  Some  banks  get  along  with  but  one  extra  set  of 
clerks  at  night.  These  come  on  duty  at  midnight  and  leave  at  8  a.m. 
This  plan  of  working  all  night  long  in  order  to  keep  up  with  the  tremendous 
amount  of  business  that  comes  in  by  mail  was  inaugurated  about  five  years 
ago.  The  first  bank  that  tried  it  found  that  so  much  valuable  daytime 
was  saved,  that  one  institution  after  another  took  it  up,  until  now  there  are 
four  that  have  these  three  eight-shifts  of  clerks,  and  several  more  who  work 
only  a  part  of  the  night.  —  Harper^s  Weekly. 

4.  The  late  King  Christian  of  Denmark  was  much  interested  in  primary 
education,  and  he  used  to  go  from  school  to  school  in  the  country,  observ- 
ing the  work  of  the  teachers,  and  sometimes  interrupting  it  in  order  to  ask 
questions  on  his  own  account.  His  coming  was  naturally  a  great  event  in 
the  small  Danish  villages.  The  children  were  all  dressed  in  the  neatest 
clothes.  They  sang  the  national  air  when  the  monarch  entered  the  school- 
house,  which  was  usually  draped  and  festooned  with  flowers  and  flags. 

At  one  village  school,  after  the  king  had  listened  intently  to  the  recita- 
tions in  history,  he  called  up  one  of  the  brightest-looking  children  and 
began  to  question  him. 

"What  great  things  did  Julius  Caesar  do  ?"  asked  the  king. 

The  child  gave  a  satisfactory  answer. 

"And  what  great  things  did  Frederick  the  Great  do?"  resumed  the  king. 

The  child  again  answered  glibly,  as  he  did  also  to  a  like  question  about 
Napoleon. 

''  Now,  then,"  said  the  king,  "tell  me  the  great  things  that  I  have  done." 

The  urchin  grew  red  in  the  face.  He  stammered  and  then  became 
tongue-tied  in  an  agony  of  mortification  and  self-reproach.  The  question 
was  repeated  again  and  again,  until  at  last  he  said,  in  a  gasping  voice  : 

"I  —  I  don't  know  any  great  things  that  your  Majesty  has  done." 

The  king  looked  at  him  for  a  moment  and  then  remarked:  "Neither  do  I." 

And  then,  bursting  into  laughter,  he  presented  the  boy  with  a  gold  piece 
and  departed  in  a  state  of  high  good  humor. 

5.  What  proportion  of  the  coal  which  fills  the  firebox  of  the  locomotive 
actually  drives  it  across  the  country  at  sixty  miles  an  hour?  About  six  per 
cent ;  the  rest  is  simply  wasted.  What  part  of  the  fuel  value  of  their  coal 
do  the  furnaces  of  the  great  manufacturing  plants  employ?  Not  over  ten 
per  cent ;  often  less. 

The  rain  of  cinders  from  the  stack  of  the  locomotive,  the  pillar  of  black 
smoke  from  the  factory  chimney,  account  conspicuously  for  part  of  the 


1 66  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH    COMPOSITION 

waste.  But  these  are  minor  issues.  The  chief  difficulty  lies  in  the  failure 
to  use  the  oceans  of  combustible  gases  which  arise  from  the  burning  coal. 
They  are  either  allowed  to  escape  unignited,  or  are  discharged,  without 
having  done  any  service  beneath  the  boilers,  to  expend  their  heat  on  the 
thankless  air. 

The  Geological  Survey  estimates  that  the  '•  smoke  nuisance "  costs  the 
country,  through  waste  of  fuel,  injury  to  merchandise,  and  unnecessary 
labor  caused  by  the  clouds  of  soot,  over  six  hundred  million  dollars  a  year. 
There  is,  moreover,  an  undeniable  menace  to  the  public  health  through  the 
polluted  air  of  great  manufacturing  towns. 

Much  of  this  tremendous  economic  loss  is  at  present  unavoidable, 
because  we  have  not  learned  how  to  utilize  the  energy  of  coal  directly. 
Steam,  and  often  electricity  as  well,  must  be  generated  before  the  power 
can  be  applied.  But  there  are  improvements  in  furnace  construction  which 
reduce  the  losses  of  imperfect  combustion,  and  progressive  manufacturers 
are  saving  money  for  themselves  and  benefiting  their  communities  by 
adopting  tliem. 

The  problem  is  still  far  from  solution,  however,  and  offers  a  splendid 
opportunity  for  the  ingenuity  of  American  inventors.  Although  it  lies  out- 
side the  lime-lighted  field  of  politics,  here  is  one  way  in  which  a  very 
genuine  conser\'ation  of  natural  resources  may  be  achieved. 

The  Secret  Service 

6.  The  secret  service  of  the  United  States  government  is  a  growth 
rather  than  a  sudden  single  creation.  For  some  time  previous  to  i860 
counterfeiting  had  been  increasing,  and  in  that  year  Congress  appropriated 
ten  thousand  dollars  to  be  expended  under  the  direction  of  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury  in  checking  the  evil.  Private  detectives  were  employed 
and  rewards  were  paid  to  the  heads  of  municipal  police  departments  for  the 
apprehension  of  counterfeiters. 

By  1864  the  issue  of  paper  money  in  greatly  increased  quantities  led  to 
a  corresponding  increase  in  counterfeiting.  Congress  therefore  raised  the 
amount  of  the  appropriation  to  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  which  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  used  in  the  establishment  of  the  permanent 
detective  bureau  which  has  since  been  known  as  the  secret  service,  and  is  a 
branch  of  the  Treasury  Department. 

The  service  consists  of  a  chief,  whose  salary  is  four  thousand  dollars,  an 
assistant  chief  at  thre^  thousand,  and  a  small  clerical  force.  All  these 
make  Washingtort  their' headquarters,  and  remain  there  most  of  the  tim^v 


THE    PARAGRAPH  I 67 

but  there  are  also  twenty-five  districts,  into  which  the  country  is  divided, 
in  each  of  which  a  representative  is  stationed.  In  addition,  there  is  a 
group  of  trained  detectives  who  remain  in  Washington  when  not  "on  a 
job,"  but  hold  themselves  in  readiness  to  go  anywhere  at  a  moment's 
notice. 

The  two  special  duties  which  have  always  belonged  to  the  secret  service 
are  the  detection  of  frauds  upon  the  Treasury  and  the  guarding  of  the  per- 
son of  the  President,  both  when  he  is  in  Washington  and  when  he  travels. 
Within  recent  years,  however,  the  force  has  been  used  for  special  investi- 
gations in  other  departments,  as,  for  example,  the  detection  of  postal  frauds, 
the  examination  of  beef-packing  methods,  and  the  tracing  of  dishonest 
dealings  in  public  lands.  In  such  cases  the  head  of  the  department  which 
desired  their  services  has  proffered  a  request  to  the  Treasury  Department, 
and  has  paid  from  his  own  appropriations  the  salaries  of  the  men  assigned. 

The  members  of  the  service  never  knowingly  allow  themselves  -to  be 
photographed,  and  seldom  admit  their  identity.  That  there  are  plenty  of 
romantic  persons  who  would  like  to  join  the  force,  in  spite  of  small  pay,  is 
evident  from  the  existence  of  a  waiting  list  of  seven  hundred  names. 

In  each  of  the  .selections  : 

1 .  State  the  point  of  the  entire  composition. 

2.  State  the  point  of  each  paragraph,  and  show  that  each  additional  para- 
graph is  a  step  in  advance  toward  the  point  of  the  whole  composition. 

3.  State  the  method  of  development  of  each  paragraph. 

4.  In  each  paragraph,  quote  the  topic  sentence,  if  there  is  one,  otherwise 
state  the  topic  sentence  that  is  implied. 

5.  Quote  the  word  or  words  that  give  transition  between  paragraphs. 

6.  From  one  paragraph  in  each  selection,  quote  the  words  which  knit 
together  the  different  sentences. 

7.  Make  an  outline  in  topical  form  of  any  one  of  the  selections. 

8.  Make  a  digest  of  any  other  of  the  selections. 

THEME 

A.    First  writing  the  outline  : 

1.  Write  a  composition  showing  that  your  home  town  is,  or  in  ten 

years  will  be,  an  advantageous  place  in  which  to  found  a  home. 

2.  Write  a  composition  showing  the  need  and  the  practical  wisdom 

of  some  public  improvement  recently  made  by  the  city  or  the 
town  in  which  you  live. 


l68  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

3.  Show  that  "  It  is  never  too  late  to  mend  ''  and  that  "  As  the  twig 

is  bent  the  tree  is  inclined/' 

4.  Point  a  moral  by  means  of  an  amusing  story. 

5.  Show  the  benefits  derived  from  attending  the  circus. 
In  each  of  your  compositions  : 

a.  What  point  have  you  made  in  each  paragraph? 

b.  What  special  advantage  is  gained  by  the  order  in  which 

you  have  arranged  your  paragraphs  ? 

c.  What  method  of  development  have  you  used  in  each  para- 

graph ? 

d.  By  what  word  or  words  have  you  given  transition  between 

paragraphs  ? 

B.  Read  each  of  your  themes  to  see  that  each  paragraph  develops  a 
point  essential  to  develop  the  main  point  of  the  composition,  that  the  para- 
graphs are  coherent  within  themselves  and  with  one  another,  that  they  are 
so  arranged  as  to  emphasize  the  point  of  the  whole  composition. 

C.  Examine  each  theme  to  see  :  (i)  that  every  sentence  is  grammatical, 
and  is  properly  punctuated ;   (2)  that  each  word  is  properly  spelled. 

D.  Read  any  two  themes  to  your  class. 

E.  Rewrite  each  of  your  themes,  making  the  corrections  suggested  by 
class  criticism. 


CHAPTER   VI 
THE   SENTENCE 

A  COMPOSITION  of  any  length,  while  in  itself  a  unit  of 
thought,  is  an  aggregate  of  smaller  units  of  thought,  the 
smallest  of  which  is  a  sentence. 

Definition.  —  A  sentence  is  a  word  or  a  group  of  words 
expressing  one  complete  thought. 

Sentence  usually  a  Unit  in  a  Composition. — Occasionally  a 
single  sentence  is  in  itself  an  entire  composition.  Ordinarily, 
however,  a  sentence  is  one  of  many  similar  units  which  to- 
gether form  a  composition.  A  sentence  which  is  a  unit  in  a 
composition  may  be  a  complete  description  ;  as,  for  example  : 

A  brown,  decayed  old  town  Piacenza  is,  —  a  deserted,  solitary,  grass- 
grown  place,  with  ruined  ramparts  ;  half-filled-iip  trenches,  which  afford  a 
frowzy  pasturage  to  the  lean  kine  that  wander  about  them ;  and  streets  of 
stern  houses,  moodily  frowning  at  the  other  houses  over  the  way. 

—  Dickens. 
or, 

Just  in  the  gray  of  the  dawn,  as  the  mists  uprose  from  the  meadows, 
There  was  a  stir  and  sound  in  the  slumbering  village  of  Plymouth  ; 
Clanging  and  clinking  of  arms,  and  the  order  imperative,  '*  Forward!" 
Given  in  tones  suppressed,  a  tramp  of  feet  and  then  silence  ; 
Figures  ten  in  the  mist,  marched  slowly  out  of  the  village. 

—  Longfellow. 

It  may  be  a  complete  narrative  ;  as,  for  example  : 

Born  of  the  poorest  family  in  a  district  of  poverty,  his  earliest  recollec- 
tion being  the  forced  sale  by  auction  of  the  few  sticks  of  furniture  that 
belonged  to  his  widowed  mother,  David  Lloyd-George  has  climbed,  by 

169 


lyo  PRACTICAL   KXCiLlSII    COMl'OSniOX 

sheer  force  of  genius,  indomitable  hard  work,  and  unflinching  courage,  to 
the  second  highest  position  in  the  British  Empire.  —  Robert  Barr. 

It  may  be  a  complete  exposition  ;  as,  for  example  : 

Each  man^s  outfit  of  garments  consisted  of  two  pairs  of  Jaeger  pajama 
trousers,  singlet,  shirt,  guernsey.  Burberry  overalls,  ten  pairs  of  heavy 
socks,  three  pairs  of  finneskoe,  Balaclava  cap  for  the  head,  with  Burberry 
covering,  large  muffler,  and  fur  mitts,  hung  from  the  neck  by  pieces  of 
lampwick  so  that  they  would  not  be  lost  when  taken  from  the  hands. 

—  In  the  Heart  of  the  Antarctic^  Shackleton. 

It  may  be  a  complete  argument ;  as,  for  example  : 

Considering  that  the  murder  was  effected  by  a  conspiracy ;  considering 
that  he  was  one  of  the  four  conspirators  ;  considering  that  two  of  the  con- 
spirators have  accounted  for  themselves  on  the  night  of  the  murder,  and 
were  not  in  Brown  Street :  considering  that  the  prisoner  does  not  account 
for  himself,  nor  show  where  he  was  ;  considering  that  Richard  Crownin- 
shield,  the  other  conspirator  and  the  perpetrator,  is  not  accounted  for,  nor 
shown  to  be  elsewhere ;  considering  that  it  is  now  past  all  doubt  that 
two  persons  were  seen  lurking  in  and  about  Brown  Street  at  different 
times,  avoiding  observation,  and  exciting  so  much  suspicion  that  the  neigh- 
bors actually  watched  them  ;  considering  that,  if  these  persons  thus  lurk- 
ing in  Brown  Street  at  that  hour  were  not  the  murderers,  it  remains  to 
this  day  wholly  unknown  who  they  were  or  what  their  business  was  ;  con- 
sidering the  testimony  of  Miss  Jaqueth.  and  that  the  club  was  afterwards 
found  near  this  place ;  considering,  finally,  that  Webster  and  Southwick 
saw  these  persons,  and  then  took  one  of  them  for  the  defendant,  and  that 
Southwick  then  told  his  wife  so,  and  that  Bray  and  Mirick  examined  them 
closely,  and  now  swear  to  their  belief  that  the  prisoner  was  one  of  them  : 
it  is  for  you  to  say,  putting  these  considerations  together,  whether  you  be- 
lieve the  prisoner  was  actually  in  Brown  Street  at  the  time  of  the  murder. 
—  Speech  on  the  Murder  of  Captain  foseph  White,  Daniel  Webster. 

It  may  be  a  complete  expression  of  persuasion ;  as,  for 
example : 

0  masters,  if  I  were  disposed  to  stir 
Your  hearts  and  minds  to  mutiny  and  rage, 

1  should  do  Brutus  wrong,  and  Cassius  wrong, 


THE   SENTENCE  171 

Who,  you  all  know,  are  honorable  men ; 
I  will  not  do  them  wrong ;  I  rather  choose 
To  wrong  the  dead,  to  wrong  myself  and  you, 
Than  I  will  wrong  such  honorable  men. 

— J7ilius  Ccesar,  Shakespeare. 

Sentence  composed  of  Elements  differing  in  Nature.  —  While 
a  sentence  must  be  in  the  main  descriptive,  narrative,  exposi- 
tional,  argumentative,  or  persuasive  in  nature,  it  may  be  made 
up  of  elements  of  different  kinds.  The  following  quotation 
from  The  Mill  on  the  Floss  is  an  example  of  such  a  sentence  : 

Three  weeks  later,  when  Dorlcote  Mill  was  at  its  prettiest  moment  in 
all  the  year, —  the  great  chestnuts  in  blossom,  and  the  grass  all  deep  and 
daisied,  —  Tom  Tulliver  came  home  to  it  earlier  than  usual  in  the  evening, 
and  as  he  passed  over  the  bridge,  he  looked  with  the  old  deep-rooted 
affection  at  the  respectable  red  brick  house,  which  always  seemed  cheerful 
and  inviting  outside,  let  the  rooms  be  as  bare  and  the  hearts  as  sad  as  they 
might  inside. 

This  sentence  is  narrative  in  nature,  yet  it  contains  both 
descriptive  and  expositional  elements  needed  to  give  infor- 
mation concerning  the  time  of  the  event,  the  place  of  hap- 
pening, and  the  state  of  mind  of  the  performer  of  the  act 
recounted. 

No  matter  how  many  kinds  of  material  a  sentence  contains, 
it  is  a  unit  when  the  ideas  are  so  selected,  so  arranged,  and 
so  expressed  as  to  convey  a  single  thought. 


1 


/, 


EXERCISE  I  "^^ 


^, 


Bring  to  class  five  sentences  that  are  complete  descriptions. 

2.  Bring  to  class  five  sentences  that  are  complete  expositions,  i.e.^  com- 
plete explanations. 

3.  Bring  to  class  five  sentences  that  are  in  the  main  narrative,  but  that 
contain  descriptive  or  expositional  elements. 

4.  Bring  to  class  five  sentences  that  are  pure  narrative,  i.e.,  that  contain 
no  other  than  narrative  elements. 

5.  Bring  to  class  five  sentences  that  are  convincing  as  argument. 


172  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

THEME  I 

1 .  In  a  single  sentence,  describe  a  comfortable  chair,  a  hat,  a  flower  bed, 
a  wood  road,  a  dog  or  a  cat,  or  a  tree. 

2.  In  a  single  sentence,  explain  how  to  chop  wood,  how  to  rake  a  lawn, 
how  to  serve  a  ball  at  tennis,  how  to  use  a  paddle,  or  how  to  sew  on  a  button. 

3.  In  a  single  sentence,  give  your  reasons  for  choosing  the  course  you 
elected  at  school,  for  preferring  your  favorite  pastime  to  all  others,  or  for 
selecting  the  particular  thing  that  you  bought  last. 

The  structure  and  the  length  of  sentences,  as  well  as  the 
kind  of  material  of  which  they  consist,  depend  entirely  upon 
the  nature  of  the  thought  to  be  brought  out. 

The  Simple  Sentence.  —  A  thought  that  is  not  complicated 
naturally  finds  expression  in  a  simple  sentence.  If  the  thought 
to  be  expressed  is  a  command  to  be  given  peremptorily,  the 
simple  sentence  may  consist  of  but  one  word,  as  "  Go ! "  or 
"  Hurry  !  "  When  one  word  is  not  enough  to  express  the 
thought  accurately,  other  words  or  groups  of  words  are  added 
until  the  exact  thought  is  stated,  as  **  Go  to-day,"  "Go  yourself 
to-morrow  on  the  noon  train,"  etc.  For  any  thought  that  does 
not  express  a  command,  at  least  two  words,  a  subject  and  a 
predicate,  are  necessary,  as  ''  John  laughed."  Such  a  sentence 
as  this,  however,  can  be  rightly  only  a  link  between  two  more 
interesting  or  more  important  thoughts.  If  "John"  is  of 
much  importance,  it  may  be  necessary  to  indicate  who  he  is, 
how  he  appears  as  he  laughs,  what  his  manner  of  laughing  is, 
what  he  laughs  at,  etc.,  as  "John,  my  brother's  most  intimate 
friend,  throwing  back  his  head,  laughed  heartily  at  my  little 
sister's  antics."  Often  the  exact  expression  of  a  thought  re- 
quires the  use  of  a  simple  sentence  in  which  the  subject  and 
the  predicate  have  both  been  developed  by  the  addition  of 
many  words  and  phrases.  The  following  sentence  is  an  ex- 
ample of  this : 

The  two  little  strangers  sat  in  cane-bottomed  chairs  before  the  open 
door,  still  looking  about  them  with  curious  eyes  at  the  strings  of  things 


I 


THE   SENTENCE 


173 


hanging  from  the  smoke-browned  rafters  —  beans,  red  pepper  pods,  and 
twists  of  home-grown  tobacco,  the  girl's  eyes  taking  in  the  old  spinning 
wheel  in  the  corner,  the  piles  of  brilliantly  figured  quilts  between  the  foot- 
boards of  the  two  beds  ranged  along  one  side  of  the  room,  and  the  boy's 
catching  eagerly  the  butt  of  a  big  revolver  projectmg  from  the  mantelpiece, 
a  Winchester  standing  in  one  corner,  a  long,  old-fashioned  squirrel  rifle 
athwart  a  pair  of  buck  antlers  over  the  front  door,  and  a  bunch  of  cane 
fishing  poles  aslant  the  wall  of  the  back  porch. 

—  The  Heart  of  the  Hills,  John  Fox,  Jr. 

The  thoughts  that  naturally  find  expression  in  simple  sen- 
tences are  either  those  which  are  unaccompanied  by  emotion, 
like  the  thought  in  the  preceding  illustration,  or  those  which 
show  a  high  degree  of  emotion,  like  the  thoughts  in  the  fol- 
lowing passage : 

"They've  jumped  the  ranch,  little  girl,"  said  Annixter,  putting  one  arm 
around  Hilma.  "  They're  in  our  house  now.  I'm  oflf.  Go  to  Derrick's 
and  wait  for  me  there." 

She  put  her  arms  around  his  neck.     "  You're  going  ? "  she  demanded. 

"I  must.  Don't  be  frightened.  It  will  be  all  right.  Go  to  Derrick's 
and  —  good-by." 

She  said  never  a  word.  She  looked  once  long  into  his  eyes,  then  kissed 
him  on  the  mouth. —  The  Octopus,  Norris. 

EXERCISE  II 

In  the  following  sentences,  select  the  simple  subject  and  the  simple 
predicate,  and  state  in  what  way  each  of  the  other  words  and  phrases  helps 
to  express  the  point  clearly  and  vividly : 

1.  It  was  a  very  good  dinner  of  broiled  steak  and  mashed  potatoes, 
cucumber  salad,  and  hot  apple  pie. 

2.  On  all  sides,  the  mountains  rose  dark  and  steep,  the  pointed  tops  of 
the  redwoods  mounting  evenly,  tier  on  tier. 

3.  Night  came  swiftly  to  Kirkwood. 

4.  Finally,  feeling  cramped  and  chilly,  he  went  stiffly  indoors  through 
the  hot  bright  halls. 

5.  He  sat  brooding  in  the  darkness,  discouraged  and  homesick. 

6.  She  was,  as  always,  quite  unself-conscious. 


174  PRACTICAL    ENGLISH    COMPOSITION 

7.  Why  should  he  have  looked  down  at  the  dark,  steep  path? 

8.  The  Nabobs  soon  became  a  most  unpopular  class  of  men. 

9.  Gabriel  looked  incredulous  and  sad,  but  between  his  movements 
of  incredulity,  relieved. 

10.  Soft  brown  mosses,  like  faded  velveteen,  formed  cushions  upon  the 
stone  tiling. 

11.  A  single,  gentle  rain  makes  the  grass  many  shades  greener. 

12.  Around  her  shoulders  she  had  thrown,  according  to  her  wont,  a 
home-knit,  crewel  shawl  of  black  and  purple. 

13.  In  four  days  they  reached  the  spacious  valley. 

14.  Her  hair,  thick  and  straight  and  pasted  down  over  the  temples  of 
her  small  head,  looked  like  a  long-used  wig. 

15.  At  early  candlelight  that  morning,  the  huge  red  stagecoach, 
leaving  town  for  his  distant  part  of  the  country,  had  rolled,  creaking  and 
rattling,  to  the  dormitory  entrance,  the  same  stage  that  had  conveyed  him 
thither. 

16.  Play  not  with  paradoxes. 

17.  One  must  be  poor  to  know  the  luxury  of  giving. 

18.  Mr.  Linton  and  his  daughter  would  frequently  walk  out  among 
the  reapers. 

19.  What  then  of  the  third  plan  offered  for  our  consideration? 

20.  These  gardens  of  New  College  are  indescribably  beautiful,  —  not 
gardens  in  an  American  sense,  but  lawns  of  the  richest  green  and  softest 
velvet  grass,  shadowed  over  by  ancient  trees. 

21.  The  whole  furniture  consisted  of  a  chair,  a  clothes-press,  and  a 
large  oak  case,  with  squares  cut  out  near  the  top  resembling  coach 
windows. 

22.  It  is  warmed  by  all  the  colors  of  an  incredible  sunset. 

23.  A  national  reserve  is  a  tract  of  forest  land  owned  and  managed 
by  the  national  government  under  the  most  approved  laws  of  modern 
forestry. 

24.  I  mean  by  cranuning  that  way  of  preparing  for  examinations  by 
committing  "points''  to  memory  during  a  few  hours  or  days  of  intense 
application  immediately  preceding  the  final  ordeal,  little  or  no  work  hav- 
ing been  performed  during  the  previous  course  of  the  term. 

25.  Over  the  horizon  behind  us,  and  a  mile  to  our  left,  a  solitary 
camel  with  its  rider  came  in  sight,  rapidly  overtaking  us. 

26.  The  girl  stood  in  a  field  of  sunlight  and  corn,  looking  straight  out 
from  the  picture  with  eager  curiosity. 


THE   SENTENCE 


175 


EXERCISE  III 


Develop  each  of  the  following  sentences  by  adding  words  or  phrases  to 
suggest  characteristics  and  to  specify  such  details  as  indicate  time,  place, 
occasion,  manner,  method,  means,  reason,  motive,  or  degree : 


1.  Shadows  lay  across  the  road. 

2.  Jack  awoke. 

3.  She  came  into  the  room. 

4.  He  raised  his  head. 

5.  They  laid  him  down. 

6.  His  eyes  closed. 

7.  The  warmth  increased. 

8.  The  moon  rose. 

9.  Tom  glared  about  the  room. 

10.  It  was  approaching. 

1 1 .  They  peered  into  the  room. 

12.  She  met  them. 

13.  Stop  here  ! 

14.  Her  aunt  looked  at  her. 

15.  The  dinner  was  an  occasion. 

16.  Grosvenor  made  a  movement. 

17.  There  was  a  little  rush. 

18.  The  weather  broke. 
Were  the  windows  open  ? 


21. 

22. 

23- 

24. 

25. 


19 
20 


Your  shoemaker  is  intelligent. 


28 
29 

30 
31 

32 

33 
34 
35 
36 
37 
38 
39 


The  shepherd  was  seated  on  a 

rock. 
The  machinery  lay  wrecked. 
The  foghorn  sounds. 


He  was  stared  at. 

The  fire  had  died  down. 

26.  He  secured  employment. 

27.  I  am  in  time. 
The  wind  blew. 
I  must  speak  to  you. 
Laura  must  telephone. 
His  mother  wished  him  to  go. 
Taxes  were  raised. 
Parliament  met. 
Will  the  choir  sing  ? 
It  is  raining. 
I  stood. 

He  tooted  his  horn. 
The  floor  creaked. 
What  is  that  ? 


EXERCISE   IV 

1.  Find  in  a  current  magazine  or  in  the  works  of  a  standard  author  and 
bring  to  class  a  descriptive  passage  made  up  largely  of  simple  sentences. 

2.  From  similar  sources,  bring  to  class  a  narrative  passage  made  up 
largely  of  simple  sentences. 

3.  Select  an  explanation  made  up  largely  of  simple  sentences. 
In  each  selection  : 

a.   What  in  the  thought  makes  the  simple  sentence  the  natural  form 
to  use? 

THEME  n 

I.    Narrate  an  exciting  event  or  describe  an  exciting  scene. 

a.  Which  of  your  sentences  are  simple  sentences? 

b.  Which  of  them  express  strong  emotion? 


/ 


176  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

Compound  Subject  and  Compound  Predicate.  —  For  some 
purposes,  a  single  word  is  not  specific  enough  to  express  the 
subject  of  a  simple  sentence  or  a  single  word  is  not  definite 
enough  to  express  the  predicate  of  a  simple  sentence  accu- 
rately. In  many  such  cases,  it  becomes  necessary  to  use  a 
simple  sentence  with  a  compound  subject  or  a  compound  pred- 
icate or  both.  For  example,  note  the  gain  in  clearness  and  ex- 
actness by  the  use  of  the  compound  subject  in  the  second 
sentence : 

1.  The  two  men  moved  slowly  away. 

2.  The  old  man  and  his  attendant  moved  slowly  away. 

Note  the  gain  in  definiteness  by  the  use  of  the  compound 
predicate  in  the  second  of  the  following  sentences : 

1.  The  beggar  left  the  place. 

2.  The  beggar  drew  back,  turned  sharply,  and  hurried  from  the  place. 

Note  the  gain  in  vividness  and  definiteness  by  the  use  of 
both  compound  subject  and  compound  predicate  in  the  second 
of  the  following  sentences : 

1.  Many  boats  were  in  the  bay. 

2.  Revenue  cutters,  stately  yachts,  busy  tugs,  fishing  smacks,  catboats, 
modest  little  rowboats,  noisy  motor  boats  lay  at  anchor,  moved  out  upon 
their  various  courses,  or  sailed  from  point  to  point  about  the  bay. 

EXERCISE    V 

Develop  each  of  the  following  simple  sentences  so  as  to  make  either  the 
subject,  the  predicate,  or  both  more  specific  or  more  definite : 

1.  Tools  lay  on  the  ground. 

2.  Everything  was  covered. 

3.  They  heard  a  sound. 

4.  Buy  me  some  books. 

5.  They  chose  furniture. 

6.  She  changed  her  position. 

7.  The  children  like  to  play. 


THE   SENTENCE  177 


8.  It  was  a  trial  of  strength. 

9.  His  expenses  are  small. 

10.   The  two  men  made  their  arrangements  together. 


<^y^' 


EXERCISE   VI 


In  the  following  simple  sentences,  replace  the  specific  terms  of  each 
compound  subject  and  compound  predicate  by  single  terms  general 
enough  to  include  all  the  specific  terms,  and  note  the  ioss  of  vividness  and 
definiteness  : 

1.  Aged  and  middle-aged,  youthful  and  young,  gray  and  white,  black 
and  brown,  bearded  and  shorn,  all  came  and  went  together. 

2.  She  clenched  her  hands  and  bit  her  handkerchief. 

3.  Mary  and  Jack  and  their  little  brother  picked,  and"  sorted  the  flowers. 

4.  Select,  wash,  and  boil  those  vegetables  for  dinner. 

5.  Where  are  my  notebook,  my  algebra,  and  my  Latin  grammar? 

6.  Friend  and  foe  alike  put  aside  all  selfish  interest  and  rallied  to  his 

cause. 

7.  Edith  and  her  sister  made  crabapple  jelly,  put  up  ten  quarts  of 
tomatoes,  and  pickled  a  basketfial  of  peaches. 

Whether  or  not  either  the  subject  or  the  predicate  of  a 
simple  sentence,  or  both,  shall  consist  of  one  word  or  many 
words  depends  entirely  upon  the  thought  to  be  expressed.  I 
While  one  thought  gains  in  vividness  and  interest  by  expan- 
sion, another  loses  in  simplicity  and  force.  "The  lady 
feared  to  cross  the  street  "  is  made  much  more  vivid  and 
forceful    by   being   expanded    into    "  The   old    lady    looked  ^ 

around  timidly,  hesitated,  took  a  step  forward,  drew  back,  .,(/ 
then  stood  looking  helplessly  across  the  street."  On  the  "^ 
other  hand,  "Henry  started  for  school  at  eight  o'clock"  be- 
comes tiresome  and  weak  when  expanded  into  "  Henry  rose, 
dressed,  ate  his  breakfast,  gathered  his  books,  put  on  his 
coat  and  hat,  and  left  the  house  at  eight  o'clock  for  school." 
A  thought  gains  by  expansion  when,  for  any  reason,  each  of 
its  minute  details  is  in  itself  important  enough  to  hold  the 
attention.     In  all  other  cases,  a  thought  loses  by  expansion. 


lyS  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

The  Complex  Sentence.  —  A  thought  may  not  find  adequate 
expression  in  a  simple  sentence  for  one  of  two  reasons.  First, 
one  or  more  of  the  subordinate  ideas  essential  to  the  thought 
may  stand  in  such  relation  to  the  main  idea  as  to  require  ex- 
pression in  a  clause  instead  of  in  a  word  or  a  phrase.  Such 
a  thought  must  find  expression  in  a  complex  sentence.  For 
example,  in  the  sentence,  **  Go  whenever  you  are  asked,"  no 
single  word  and  no  phrase  can  express  the  exact  idea  of 
relative  time  which  the  thought  requires ;  hence  the  subordi- 
nate clause,  "whenever  you  are  asked,"  must  be  used.  In 
the  sentence,  "  The  boy  who  left  the  group  suddenly  is  the 
boy  wanted,"  no  word  or  phrase  can  point  out  the  especial 
boy  as  definitely  as  does  the  restrictive  adjective  clause.  In 
the  sentence,  "  He  admits  that  he  meant  to  do  it,"  no  word 
or  phrase  can  express  the  exact  idea  expressed  by  the  noun 
clause,  "  that  he  meant  to  do  it."  Second,  often,  even  though 
an  idea  can  be  expressed  intelligibly  in  a  word  or  a  phrase, 
the  idea  is  not  given  its  correct  shade  of  relation  to  other 
ideas  as  well  as  if  it  were  expressed  in  a  clause.  In  each 
of  the  following  sentences, 

1 .  As  he  crossed  the  room,  he  paused  a  moment,  and  looked  about  him. 

2.  Crossing  the  room,  he  paused  a  moment,  and  looked  about  him. 

3.  He  crossed  the  room,  paused  a  moment,  and  looked  about  him. 

the  time  of  **  pausing  "  and  "  looking,"  and  the  importance 
of  the  man's  "  crossing  the  room,"  differ.  Only  by  the  use  of 
the  subordinate  clause  in  the  complex  sentence  can  the  exact 
instant  of  time  at  which  the  man  "paused"  and  "looked," 
and  the  exact  degree  of  importance  of  his  "  crossing  the 
room,"  be  expressed. 

EXERCISE   Vn 

In  each  of  the  following  sentences  select  each  subordinate  clause. 
Tell  in  what  way  each  adjective  and  each  adverbial  clause  help  to  give 
vividness  or  definiteness  to  the  point. 


THE   SENTENCE 


179 


1.  I  would  not  eat  or  drink  here  if  I  were  starving. 

2.  Then  rose  terrified  bellowings  from  the  bullock,  where  it  stood 
jammed  in  a  passageway  with  two  frantic  dogs  at  its  rear. 

3.  In  some  scattered  groves  beyond,  he  bagged  a  pigeon  and  missed 
a  quail  which  unexpectedly  whirred  out  of  a  thicket. 

4.  As  soon  as  Tom  knew  that  his  brother  would  come  to  San  Fran- 
cisco, he  was  unwilling  to  go  away  before  September. 

5.  The  greatest  advantage  of  swimming  as  a  physical  developer  is 
that  it  develops  all  the  muscles  of  the  body  in  harmony. 

o.    She  was  lively,  light-hearted,  and  could  be  very  agreeable  with  those 
who  did  not  cross  her  will. 

7.  Yet,  upon  the  whole,  I  believe  she  respected  me  more  than  she  was 
aware  of. 

8.  Father  says  everything  he  has  is  mine. 

9.  "Did  you  want  anything  ?*'  I  inquired. 

10.  Not  long  after  this  proclamation,  there  arrived  in  his  metropolis  a 
man  so  hideous  that  the  very  guards  who  arrested  him  were  forced  to 
shut  their  eyes  as  they  led  him  along. 

1 1.  Since  you  have  already  decided,  why  do  you  ask  my  opinion? 

12.  He  retained  a  great  deal  of  the  reserve  for  which  his  boyhood  was 
remarkable. 

13.  Do  you  remember  the  old  barn  that  stands  by  the  roadside.'' 

14.  The  house  in  which  lie  was  born  has  been  kept  in  repair  and  is 
still  furnished  as  it  was  in  his  boyhood. 

15.  The  turn  in  the  road  where  the  automobile  ran  down  the  wagon  is 
very  sharp. 

16.  What  I  have  told  you  is  confidential. 

17.  The  dog  is  so  ugly  that  every  one  is  afraid  of  him. 

18.  In  the  long  evenings,  while  he  sat  in  front  of  the  great  log  fire, 
he  dreamed  of  the  days  when  he,  too,  should  be  a  great  business  mag- 
nate. 

19.  Though  it  be  honest,  it  is  never  wise  to  bring  bad  news. 

20.  The  water  washed  in  faster  than  they  could  bail  it  out. 

21.  She  found  it  where  she  herself  had  left  it  —  on  the  piano. 

22.  He  is  a  jolly  man,  who  has  a  joke  for  every  one. 

23.  She  sat  smiling  at  the  baby,  who  was  playing  with  its  toes  and 
gurgling  happily. 

24.  Finally,  they  made  their  way  back  to  the  place  where  they  had  last     ^ 
camped.  L 


>$ 


1 8a  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

25.  Suddenly,  the  time  changed  to  a  lively  waltz,  which  made  me  feel 
like  dancing  myself. 

26.  We  sent  news  of  the  accident  to  him,  for  we  feared  that,  if  he  heard 
of  it  first  through  the  papers,  the  shock  might  unnerve  him. 

27.  She  lived  in  a  little  white  house  which  stood  on  the  top  of  the  hill. 

28.  He  succeeded  in  his  plan  because  he  worked  so  persistently  to 
carry  it  through. 

29.  I  must  hurry  home  at  once  in  order  that  mother  may  get  started 
early. 

30.  I  kept  this  book  so  that  you  might  read  it. 

31.  One  beautiful  day  last  summer  I  roamed  through  the  woods  to  find 
a  cozy  nook  where  I -might  read  undisturbed. 

32.  She  wore  a  big  straw  hat,  which  completely  hid  her  face. 

33.  The  older  he  grew,  the  more  patient  he  grew. 

34.  The  more,  the  merrier. 

35.  He  died  as  he  had  lived  —  peacefully. 

36.  Take  as  many  as  you  can  carry. 

37.  Against  the  back  porch  stood  the  ladder  by  means  of  which  the 
thief  must  have  entered. 

EXERCISE   VIII 

Develop  the  following  sentences  by  adding  clauses  to  express  qualities, 
restrictions,  time,  place,  cause,  condition,  manner,  or  degree. 
Show  in  what  way  each  added  clause  improves  the  sentence : 

1.  The  broker  was  in  his  office. 

2.  Gulls  flew  before  them. 

3.  The  guard  stood  looking  at  the  empty  house. 
'             4.  The  group  had  scattered. 

5.  She  crossed  the  room. 

6.  The  man  stood  at  the  river's  edge. 
j^           7.    Three  men  appeared  in  the  road. 

8.  Sounds  came  from  the  woods. 

9.  The  boys  ate  heartily. 

10.  Those  women  were  not  hurt. 

11.  I  thought  I  had  better  do  it  that  way. 

12.  We  need  a  new  man. 

13.  I  could  go  perhaps. 

14.  I  must  stay  here  even  longer. 

15.  There  were  so  many  at  home! 


THE   SENTENCE  l8l 

*V      ^  EXERCISE  IX 

In  the  following  sentences,  substitute  in  the  place  of  adjectives  and 
adjective  phrases  or  of  adverbs  and  adverbial  phrases  such  clauses  as  will 
make  the  ideas  suggested  by  the  original  form  more  vivid : 

1.  The  old  general  looked  angry. 

2.  The  furnishings  of  the  bedroom  were  dainty. 

3.  The  large  motor  car  went  by  very  rapidly. 

4.  The  little  mill  stood  on  the  side  of  the  stream. 

5.  She  had  a  way  of  not  hearing  at  times. 

6.  The  whole  affair  made  him  unhappy. 

7.  Before  them  lay  a  fertile  valley. 

8.  Go  to  see  her  soon. 

9.  On  their  way  home,  passing  the  Square,  he  left  her. 

10.  Wait  awhile. 

11.  The  light  began  to  fade. 

12.  After  a  few  minutes,  he  answered. 

13.  The  young  girl  laughed  heartily  at  the  sight. 

14.  He  wore  a  peculiar  mask. 

15.  The  other  man  stood  aside. 

16.  Being  poor  and  very  young,  he  was  not  able  to  secure  work. 

EXERCISE  X 

In  the  following  sentences,  change  each  subordinate  clause  to  a  corre- 
sponding word  or  phrase,  and  note  the  difference  in  effect : 

1.  When  I  looked  up.  I  saw  a  little  child  standing  before  me. 

2.  As  I  made  a  movement  to  enter,  I  was  stopped  by  a  large,  black 
dog. 

3.  I  tried  to  run  because  I  became  frightened. 

4.  The  fairy  started  to  walk  along  ihe  Dath  while  she  motioned  to  me 
to  follow... 

5.  Her  head,  which  was  small  and  well  shaped,  and  which  was  covered 
with  masses  of  golden  hair,  stood  out  in  contrast  to  the  dark  curtains. 

6.  When  I  asked  her  to,  she  explained  the  different  parts  of  the  machine. 

7.  The  little  children,  who  were  very  happy,  ran  in  and  out  among  the 
trees. 

8.  It  was  in  a  small  country  town  in  western  Massachusetts  that  Roland 
Rand  was  born. 


l82  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

EXERCISE  XI 

Change  the  following  complex  sentences  to  simple  sentences  and  note 
the  difference  in  effect : 

1.  It  was  an  exceedingly  hot  day  in  the  early  part  of  August  when  I  sat 
reclining  comfortably  in  a  large  armchair  on  the  piazza  of  my  summer  home 
on  Cape  Cod. 

2.  They  were  two  boys  who  were  utterly  unlike  in  all  respects. 

3.  The  next  day  was  the  day  for  candidates  who  were  new  to  try  for 
places  on  the  ball  team. 

4.  Tom,  who  was  a  genial,  pleasant  fellow,  was  chosen  to  make  the 
request  for  the  boys  as  soon  as  the  time  seemed  propitious. 

5.  The  breezes  which  blew  in  from  the  gulf  were  cool. 

6.  He  lives  in  the  house  which  is  at  the  angle  of  the  crossroads. 

The  Compound  Sentence.  —  A  thought  may  actually  be  a 
combination  of  several  thoughts  of  equal  importance,  and  so 
require  for  its  expression  a  compound  sentence. 

A.  The  thought  which  finds  expression  in  a  compound 
sentence  may  consist  of  a  combination  of  two  thoughts. 

I.  The  two  thoughts  which  should  be  combined  to  form  a 
compound  sentence  may  be : 

1.  An  assertion  and  its  explanation  ;  as,  for  example  : 

We  are  not  surprised  to  find  arrayed  against  us  those  who  are  the  bene- 
ficiaries of  government  favoritism  :  they  have  read  our  platform. 

2.  An  assertion  and  its  specification  ;  as,  for  example  : 

Two  results  followed  :  the  number  of  those  who  held  land  directly  of 
the  king  increased  rapidly,  and  this  increase  lowered  the  social  and  political 
importance  of  the  tenants-in-chief  as  a  class  ;  at  the  same  time,  as  more 
and  more  land  came  to  be  held  directly  of  the  king,  the  matter  of  buying 
and  selling  land  was  simplified  and  made  easy. 

3.  An  assertion  and  its  repetition  ;  as,  for  example  : 

He  was  no  impractical  theorizer,  he  saw  the  evils  of  the  time,  and  pro- 
tested against  them. 


THE   SENTENCE  1 83 

4.  An  assertion  and  its  logical  outcome ;  as,  for  example  : 

Great  Britain  taxed  the  American  colonies  without  giving  them  direct 
representation  in  Parliament ;  therefore,  the  colonies  rebelled. 

5.  An  assertion  and  its  contrast ;  as,  for  example  : 

The  world  will  little  note,  nor  long  remember,  what  we  say  here,  but  it 
can  never  forget  what  they  did  here. 

B.  The  thought  which  finds  expression  in  a  compound 
sentence  may  consist  of  a  group  of  thoughts. 

I.  A  group  of  thoughts  make  one  thought  when  they  are 
realized  simultaneously.     For  example  : 

By  this  time  the  sun  was  driving  broad,  golden  spokes  through  the  lower 
branches  of  the  mango  trees  ;  the  parakeets  and  doves  were  coming  home 
in  their  hundreds ;  the  chattering,  gray-backed  Seven  Sisters,  talking  over 
the  day's  adventures,  walked  back  and  forth  in  twos  and  threes  almost 
under  the  feet  of  the  travelers ;  and  shufflings  and  scufflings  in  the 
branches  showed  that  the  bats  were  ready  to  go  out  on  the  night-picket. 

—  Ki))K  RuDYARD  Kipling. 

II.  A  group  of  thoughts  make  one  thought  when  they  are 
the  enumeration  of  the  specific  details  of  a  generalization. 
For  example : 

You  don't  know  the  big  men  in  music  ;  you  don't  know  the  pioneers  and 
the  leaders  even  in  any  art ;  you  don't  know  the  great  literatures  of  the 
world,  and  what  they  represent ;  you  don't  know  how  other  races  are 
working  out  their  social  destinies  ;  youVe  never  even  stopped  to  examine 
yourselves,  to  analyze  your  own  society,  to  see  the  difference  between  a 
civilization  founded  on  the  unit  of  the  individual,  and  a  civilization,  like  the 
Latin,  on  the  indestructible  advance  of  the  family. 

—  Stover  at  Yale,  Owen  Johnson. 

III.  A  group  of  thoughts  make  one  thought  when  they 
express  the  parts  of  one  action.     For  example : 

Firm,  light  steps  came  hastily  up  to  the  outer  door ;  the  door  clicked 
open  and  shut ;  the  steps  came  down  the  hall. 


*>o 


184  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH    COMPOSITION 

The  Compound -Complex  Sentence.  —  In  the  typical  com- 
pound sentence,  each  member  has  the  construction  of  a 
simple  sentence.  When  such  a  structure  will  not  express  the 
thought  adequately,  any  one  of  the  members  of  a  compound 
sentence  or  each  of  the  members  may  take  the  structure  of  a 
complex  sentence,  as  in  the  following  example  : 

It  is  not  only  for  a  past  plot  that  these  men  are  condemned,  but  also  for 
a  plot  which  has  not  yet  been  executed  ;  and  the  devices  that  were  lead- 
ing to  its  execution  are  not  put  an  end  to  ;  the  tyrant  is  still  gathering  his 
forces  in  Romagna,  and  the  enemies  of  Florence,  who  sit  in  the  highest 
places  of  Italy,  are  ready  to  hurl  any  stone  that  will  crush  her. 

When  the  majority  of  the  members  of  a  compound  sentence 
are  complex  in  structure,  the  sentence  is  called  a  compound- 
,  complex  sentence. 

EXERCISE   XII 

In  each  of  the  following  compound  sentences,  name  each  member  and 
tell  why  the  members  are  grouped  into  one  sentence: 

1.  The  years  of  "treatment"  had  had  their  effect;  they  had  disturbed 
the  mind  which  in  the  end  they  must  have  overthrown. 

2.  Then  Burns  went  back  to  his  room  to  wait  for  Judd  ;  and  at  ten  o^clock 
Judd  was  announced,  and  Burns  ordered  the  bell-boy  to  show  him  up. 

3.  At  first  she  believed  it  to  be  the  forefeet  of  some  wandering  horse  as 
he  struck  the  ground  with  his  hoofs  in  leisurely  fashion,  and  slowly  passed 
along  the  deserted  road ;  then  she  perceived  that  it  was  the  two  feet  of  a 
man  moving  briskly  and  carrying  him  swiftly  forward. 

4.  There  was  a  standing  rule  about  marbles :  if  a  boy  ever  came  to  our 
house  to  complain,  he  got  every  marble  in  the  house! 

5.  Handkerchiefs  were  pulled  out ;  smelling  bottles  were  handed  round  ; 
hysterical  sobs  and  screams  were  heard ;  and  Mrs.  Sheridan  was  carried 
out  in  a  fit.  —  IVarren  Hastings,  Macaulay. 

6.  Their  (the  American  institutions  of  learning)  libraries  are  filled  with 
books  ;  their  laboratories  contain  expensive  and  elaborate  modern  appli- 
ances ;  their  gymnasiums  are  preeminent  in  equipment ;  their  instructors 
are  drawn  from  the  best  scholars  in  the  country  and  also  from  the  finishing 
schools  of  Europe  ;  the  spirit  of  athletics  and  undergraduate  leadership  is, 
as  a  rule,  strongly  emphasized,  while  the  fraternity  and  social  systems  afford 


THE   SENTENCE  1 85 

rare  opportunities  for  friendship.     Temptations  and  college  evils  vary  com- 
paratively little  in  different  institutions.  —  C.  S.  Cooper. 

7.  A  student  from  the  School  of  Mines  in  Colorado  considers  the  chief 
value  of  his  college  training  was  the  giving  him  "a  vision  of  a  life  work 
instead  of  a  job  "  ;  a  graduate  of  the  University  of  Louisiana  writes  that  the 
chief  value  to  him  was  "a  realization  that  I  was  worth  as  much  as  the  average 
man  "  ;  while  an  alumnus  of  Vanderbilt  University  said  that  his  course  gave 
him  "the  feeling  of  equality  and  of  opportunity  to  do  things  and  be  some- 
thing along  with  other  men.  It  has  meant,  perhaps,  a  greater  chance  to 
do  my  best."  — C.  S.  Cooper. 

8.  At  harvest  time  the  village  landings  on  the  many  creeks  and  rivers 
were  filled  with  a  forest  of  masts  and  rigging,  and  its  streets  at  night  were 
alive  with  these  river  and  coastwise  sailors.  —  L.  M.  Arthurs. 

9.  His  words  came  in  a  bitter  torrent,  but  their  meaning  might  have 
been  stated  in  one  breath.  —  E.  M.  Hornung. 

10.  Her  long,  plain  face,  habitually  grave  in  expression,  conveyed  no 
hint  of  exceptional  emotion,  but  the  fingers  of  the  large,  capable  hands  she 
clasped  before  her  writhed  restlessly  against  one  another,  and  there  was  a 
husky  threat  of  collapse  in  her  voice  as  she  spoke. 

—  Harold  Frederic. 

11.  ...  In  the  village  of  Adeni  they  sat  perched  like  red-headed  white 
birds  under  a  clump  of  gnarled,  old  olive  trees,  with  a  background  of  purple 
mountains,  lit  up  by  a  golden  sunset ;  and  w^ith  great  enjoyment  and 
laughter  they  helped  us  to  photograph  two  tiny  girls  in  red,  with  the 
blackest  and  velvetiest  eyes  ever  seen.  —  Sir  Henry  Norman. 

12.  At  the  best  our  life  together  would  be  terribly  cramped;  I  can't 
even  provide  a  suitable  home  as  affairs  are  now. 

13.  The  room  was  quite  dark  :  the  fire  had  died  down. 

14.  He  had  broken  his  law,  his  own  law ;  and,  mercifully,  his  law  was 
breaking  him. 

15.  We  cannot  meet  such  heavy  expenses  any  longer;  we  shall  have 
to  drop  out  of  our  class. 

16.  Emergencies  are  forever  arising;  something  unexpected  is  always 
happening. 

17.  Lose  no  time;  be  always  employed  in  something  useful;  cut  off  all 
unnecessary  actions.  —  Franklin. 

18.  She  stretched  forth  her  hands  to  take  the  flower;  thereupon  the 
earth  opened,  and  the  king  of  the  great  nation  of  the  dead  sprang  out 
with  his  immortal  horses.  —  Pater. 


1 86  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

EXERCISE  XIII 

Change  the  following  compound  sentences  to  complex  sentences. 
Show  in  what  way  the  change  aftects  the  meaning  of  each  sentence. 

1 .  It  was  a  very  hot  morning  and  I  was  lying  in  a  hammock  reading  a  book. 

2.  I  had  not  slept  all  night  and  soon  fell  asleep  while  reading. 

3.  Billy  did  not  receive  much  pay  and  his  wife  became  dissatisfied. 

4.  It  was  the  night  before  Hallowe'en  and  I  was  waiting  at  the  dress- 
maker's for  my  costume  to  be  finished. 

5.  A  little  flurry  of  snow  danced  in  and  out  of  the  deep  corners  of  the 
dingy  buildings  and  the  wind  swept  through  the  street. 

6.  Maitland  had  kept  informed  of  Wells's  whereabouts  and  suddenly 
he  decided  to  renew  the  acquaintance. 

EXERCISE   XIV 

Change  the  following  compound  sentences  to  simple  sentences- 
Show  in  what  way  the  change  affects  the  meaning  of  the  sentence. 

1 .  The  lady  took  her  seat,  and  then  she  told  me  to  sit  down  beside  her. 

2.  His  mornings  were  spent  going  about  with  Baker,  and  his  evenings 
were  spent  with  his  guests. 

3.  It  was  September  and  the  girls  decided  that  they  must  return  to 
their  studio. 

4.  Mrs.  Jack  Benton  stood  at  one  end  of  the  grandstand;  she  tapped 
her  foot  impatiently  ;  then  she  walked  up  and  down  with  short,  rapid  steps. 

5.  The  grocer  peered  at  the  hungry-looking  child,  then  he  glanced  at 
the  five-dollar  bill,  and  then,  without  speaking,  he  handed  out  the  change. 

EXERCISE   XV 

Combine  into  one  true  sentence  each  of  the  following  collections  of 
sentences  : 

1.  It  was  a  very  cold  night.  Snow  lay  on  the  ground.  It  was  piled 
high  against  the  windows  of  a  certain  old-fashioned  farmhouse. 

2.  A  great  many  years  ago  there  lived  a  king  named  Elderfaunce.  He 
had  a  daughter  named  Nachette.  Her  beauty  was  famed  throughout  the 
kingdom. 

3.  Once  upon  a  time  there  lived  in  Scotland  a  mother  and  her  little 
daughter.  They  lived  in  a  small  cottage  on  a  large  farm.  The  mother 
and  the  little  girl  raised  all  sorts  of  vegetables  to  take  to  market. 


THE    SENTENCE  1 87 

4.  At  six  o'clock  all  the  boys  in  the  camp  got  up.  They  were  rolled 
out  of  bed  by  the  first  one  up.  They  washed  and  dressed.  Then  it  was 
time  for  breakfast. 

5.  I  started  for  Brown's  berry  field  at  seven  o'clock.  I  arrived  at  the 
field  about  half  past  seven.     I  immediately  began  to  pick  berries. 

6.  I  know  a  little  girl.  She  is  about  seven  years  old.  She  is  verv 
handsome.  She  has  large  brown  eyes.  Her  eyes  have  long,  silky  lashes. 
Her  eyebrows  are  black.  Her  hair  is  light  brown  and  wavy.  She  wears 
it  hanging  loose.  It  is  parted  in  the  middle  and  combed  softly  back  from 
her  forehead. 

EXERCISE   XVI 

In  each  of  the  following  compound-complex  sentences,  name  the  mem- 
bers and  tell  why  they  are  grouped  into  one  sentence. 

State  the  value  of  the  subordinate  clauses  in    the  complex  members. 

1 .  They  asked  her  kindly  what  she  did  there,  alone ;  and  Demeter 
answered,  dissemblingly,  that  she  was  escaped  from  certain  pirates,  who 
had  carried  her  from  her  home  and  meant  to  sell  her  as  a  slave.  —  Pater. 

2.  There  were  slippers  which  enabled  the  feet  to  walk;  knives  that  cut 
without  the  motion  of  a  hand ;  sabres  which  dealt  the  blow  at  the  person 
they  were  wished  to  strike ;  and  the  whole  (was)  enriched  with  gems  that 
were  hitherto  unknown. —  Vaf/iek,  W.  Beckford. 

3.  The  roughness  and  violence  which  he  showed  in  society  were  to  be 
expected  from  a  man  whose  temper,  not  naturally  gentle,  had  been  long 
tried  by  the  bitterest  calamities,  by  the  want  of  meat,  of  fire,  and  of  clothes, 
by  the  importunity  of  creditors,  by  the  insolence  of  booksellers,  by  the  de- 
rision of  fools,  by  the  insincerity  of  patrons,  by  that  bread  which  is  the 
bitterest  of  all  food,  by  those  stairs  w^hich  are  the  most  toilsome  of  all 
paths,  by  that  deferred  hope  which  makes  the  heart  sick.  — Macaulay. 

4.  Elizabeth,  feeling  really  anxious,  determined  to  go  to  her,  though  the 
carriage  was  not  to  be  had  ;  and,  as  she  was  no  horsewoman,  walking  was 
her  only  alternative.  — Jane  Austen. 

The  Order  of  Ideas  in  a  Sentence.  —  The  nature  of  the 
thought  to  be  expressed  not  only  determines  whether  the 
form  of  sentence  to  be  used  shall  be  simple,  complex,  com- 
pound, or  compound-complex,  but  also  determines  in  what 
order  the  ideas  that  form  the  sentence  shall  be  presented. 


1 88  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

The  Loose  Sentence.  —  In  the  sentence,  **  His  plan  is  neither 
more  nor  less  than  that  of  requiring  the  paroled  prisoner  to 
set  aside  a  fixed  sum  from  his  earnings,  varying  according  to 
their  amount,  to  be  deposited  in  a  savings  bank,  to  furnish 
the  basis  of  a  new  start  in  life  at  the  expiration  of  his  sen- 
tence," the  thought  is  in  the  nature  of  a  conversation,  a  style 
of  composition  most  commonly  developed  by  the  mere  addi- 
tion of  details,  therefore  the  ideas  are  expressed  in  such  an 
order  that  the  sentence  might  be  brought  to  a  close  at  any 
one  of  a  number  of  points  before  the  actual  end.  It  might 
stop  with  the  word  '*  earnings,"  and  still  express  a  complete 
thought,  or  it  might  stop  with  the  word  "amount,"  or  with 
the  word  "bank,"  or  with  the  word  "life,"  with  the  same 
result.  Such  a  sentence  as  this,  i.e.,  a  sentence  that  can  be 
brought  to  a  close  at  one  point  or  at  more  than  one  point  be- 
fore the  actual  end  and  still  express  a  complete  thought,  is  a 
hose  sentence. 

The  Periodic  Sentence.  —  In  the  sentence,  "  Canada,  grow- 
ing in  national  spirit,  conscious  of  its  vast  resources,  confident 
of  a  splendid  future,  not  only  desires  to  do  its  full  share  for 
the  common  defense,  as  a  part  of  the  British  Empire,  but  is 
also  ambitious  to  give  expression  to  its  own  increasing  im- 
portance," the  thought  is  one  that  rises  with  increasing  force 
to  the  end,  therefore  the  ideas  are  expressed  in  such  an  order 
that  there  is  no  point  before  the  actual  end  at  which  the 
sentence  could  be  brought  to  a  close  and  still  express  a  com- 
plete thought.  A  sentence  of  this  kind,  i.e.,  a  sentence  so 
constructed  that  it  keeps  the  thought  in  suspense  until  the 
end,  is  a  periodic  sentence. 

The  Balanced  Sentence.  —  In  the  sentence,  "United,  we 
stand  ;  divided,  we  fall,"  the  thought  expresses  deliberate  con- 
trast, therefore  the  ideas  are  so  arranged  that  one  group  of 
ideas  is  contrasted  with  another  group,  words  opposite  in  sug- 


THE   SENTENCE  1 89 

gestion  being  placed  in  the  same  construction  in  similar  posi- 
tions in  the  two  members  of  the  sentence.  That  is,  the  con- 
trasted ideas  of  union  and  of  lack  of  union  are  expressed  by 
the  participles  "united"  and  "divided,"  respectively,  each 
participle  preceding  the  pronoun  which  it  modifies.  The  re- 
sult of  union  and  of  lack  of  union  is  expressed  by  the  two 
words  of  opposite  meaning,  "stand"  and  "fall,"  which  are 
the  main  verbs  of  their  respective  members  and  which  im- 
mediately follow  their  subjects.  A  sentence  in  which  con- 
trasted ideas,  equal  in  importance,  are  expressed  in  like 
constructions  placed  in  similar  positions  in  the  sentence  is  a 
balanced  sentejice. 

The  Loose-Periodic  Sentence.  —  In  the  sentence,  "  It  is 
painful  to  turn  to  the  opening  years  of  the  Union,  and  see 
how  the  great  men  whom  we  are  taught  to  revere,  and  to 
whose  fostering  care  the  beginning  of  the  republic  was  in- 
trusted, fanned  their  hatred  and  suspicion  of  each  other,"  the 
thought  could  be  brought  to  a  close  with  the  word  "Union," 
but  from  that  point  on  the  thought  is  held  in  suspense  to  the 
end  ;  therefore  the  ideas  are  expressed  in  a  loose  sentence  with 
the  ideas  in  the  second  part  of  the  compound  predicate  ex- 
pressed in  periodic  form.  Such  a  sentence  is  sometimes  called 
a  loose-periodic  sentence. 


EXERCISE    XVII 


^^'^uj^^ 


Show  that  each  of  the  following  sentences  is  loose,  periodic,  loose- 
periodic,  or  balanced : 

1.  The  Arab  town  is  a  rabbit-warren  of  interlaced  streets,  a  maze  of 
stairways,  narrow  gateways,  twisting  streets,  and  blind  alleys. 

2.  To  walk  from  the  French  town  to  the  Arab  town  in  Algiers  is  to  be 
brought  sharply  up  against  the  racial  problem,  always  the  most  vital  mat- 
ter when  East  and  West  meet,  with  the  significance  of  its  contrasts  and 
the  uncertainty  of  its  future. 

—  The  AjttomobiU  in  Africa^  Sir  Henry  Norman. 


igo 


PRACnCAL   ENGLISH    COMPOSITION 


3.  In  the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth  century,  when  the  clouds  and 
storms  had  come,  when  the  gay  sensuous  pagan  Hfe  was  gone,  when  men 
were  not  living  by  the  senses  and  understanding,  when  they  were  looking 
for  the  speedy  coming  of  Antichrist,  there  appeared  in  Italy,  to  the  north 
of  Rome,  in  the  beautiful  Umbrian  country  at  the  foot  of  the  Apennines,  a 
figure  of  the  most  magical  power  and  charm,  St.  Francis.  —  Ruskin. 

4.  The  shepherd,  an  old  white-haired  man,  was  seated  on  a  rock,  staff 
in  hand,  watching  his  dog  collect  the  sheep  from  the  rocky  slope  on  which 
they  were  scattered. 

5.  That  there  are  precedents  against  us,  I  allow. 

6.  From  the  situation  that  I  held,  and  from  the  connections  I  had  in 
the  city  of  Dublin,  it  was  necessary  for  me  to  hold  intercourse  with  various 
descriptions  of  persons. 

7.  On  the  left  are  the  mountains,  their  dark,  perpendicular  crags  alone 
rising  clear  of  the  snow ;  on  our  right  the  valley  is  filled  with  innumerable 
conical  hills,  each  having  a  Kabyle  village  perched  upon  its  top. 

—  T/ie  Aiitfljnobile  in  Africa,  Sir  Henry  Norman. 

8.  On  one  side  was  a  high  pink  house,  with  clothes  of  every  description 
and  color  hanging  out  of  every  window ;  on  the  other  was  a  rather  dilapi- 
dated house  which  had  probably  once  been  a  palace,  with  balconies,  mar- 
ble balustrades,  and  sculptured  cornices. 

—  Cadenabbia,  M.  K.  Waddington. 

Basis    of    Choice    between   Loose    and    Periodic    Forms. — 

Whether  ideas  shall  be  expressed  in  loose  or  in  periodic 
sentences  depends  upon  two  things,  the  demands  of  coher- 
ence and  the  demands  of  emphasis.  For  example,  in  the 
sentence,  "  In  a  queer  little  hut  beside  a  waterfall  lived  a 
poor  old  man,"  the  periodic  form  gives  the  full  weight  of 
emphasis  to  "  poor  old  man."  Hence  what  follows  in  the 
next  sentence  must  be  some  definite  development  of  "  poor 
old  man."  On  the  other  hand,  in  either  of  the  loose  forms 
of  the  sentence,  **  A  poor  old  man  Hved  in  a  queer  little  hut 
beside  a  waterfall,"  or  *'  A  poor  old  man  Hved  beside  a 
waterfall  in  a  queer  little  hut,"  the  emphasis  is  distributed, 
in  the  first  case  between  "  old  man  and  waterfall  "  and  in  the 
second  case  between  **  old  man  and  hut."     Which  one  of  the 


THE   SENTENCE  191 

forms  is  to  be  used  must,  then,  be  determined  by  the  trend 
of  what  is  to  be  said. 

Change  the  following  sentences  from  loose  to  periodic,  and  state  the 
difference  in  emphasis. 

Point  out  the  instances  in  which  the  change  in  form  evidently  im- 
proves the  sentence  and  the  instances  in  which  the  change  in  form  evi- 
dently injures  the  sentence. 

1 .  The  child  pocketed  the  money  and  tucked  the  bread  under  his  thin 
little  arm,  and  trudged  out  of  the  shop. 

2.  Just  then  slie  covered  her  face  with  her  hands,  for  she  could  not 
bear  to  watch  the  ascent. 

3.  He  waited,  standing  in  a  bright  spot,  surrounded  by  glittering  win- 
dows filled  with  bright  colors. 

4.  He  heard  the  newsboys  calling  at  the  top  of  their  voices  the  names 
of  the  evening  papers. 

5.  The  young  man  referred  to  as  Jack  returned  in  the  course  of  the 
evening  to  see  him. 

6.  No  one  knew  the  age  of  the  old  clock  that  stood  in  the  corner  of 
the  hall  in  a  little  old-fashioned  house. 

7.  The  house  was  small  and  rather  old.  yet.  in  spite  of  this,  it  was 
neatly  kept. 

8.  It  had  been  snowing  in  a  leisurely  way  all  the  long  dreary  day.  so 
that  the  roofs  and  window  sills  of  the  tiny  scattered  cottages  in  the  little 
village  on  the  mountain  were  piled  high  with  thick  white  covers  of  spotless 
snow. 

9.  He  started  out  hopefully  every  morning,  bidding  his  wife  and  little 
boy  good-by,  and  trying  to  cheer  them  by  saying.  "Surely  1  shall  find 
something  to  do  to-day,  and  then  we  shall  have  plenty  to  eat  and  coal  to 
keep  us  warm.'' 

10.  Far  greater  than  all  of  them  was  Thorne,  their  captain,  and  he  was 
worthy  of  being  the  leader  ot  those  men. 

EXERCISE    XIX 

Change  the  following  sentences  from  periodic  to  loose,  and  state  the 
difterence  in  emphasis. 


192  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

Point  out  the  instances  in  which  the  sentence  is  improved  and  the 
instances  in  which  the  sentence  is  injured  by  the  change  in  form. 

1.  Timid,  and  with  a  frightened  look  on  his  little  face,  he  picked  his 
way  to  the  bakeshop. 

2.  Gradually  the  light  faded. 

3.  With  one  mad  plunge,  speeding  over  the  water  and  skimming  along 
the  ground,  the  aeroplane  reached  the  center  of  the  field. 

4.  How  she  wished  there  had  never  been  either  a  biplane  or  a  mono- 
plane. 

5.  When  Grandmother  Grandon  died,  she  willed  the  old  clock  to  her 
oldest  granddaughter. 

6.  After  her  mother  was  made  comfortable  and  the  house  was  neatly 
arranged,  Mary  churned  the  butter. 

7.  It  seemed  to  the  village  people,  who  looked  with  envious  eyes  upon 
this  child,  that  she  was,  perhaps,  the  happiest  child  that  had  ever  lived. 

8.  Her  soft  snowy  white  hair,  her  large  blue  eyes,  and  her  kindly 
smile,  so  charmed  the  little  beggar  boy  that  he  stared  at  her  spellbound. 

9.  Apparently  regardless  of  the  bitter  cold  and  wind,  a  young  girl 
threaded  her  way  through  the  bleak  streets. 

10,  Abraham  Lincoln^s  struggle  and  success  in  the  pursuit  of  learning 
illustrates  this  fact. 

Effect  of  Loose,  Periodic,  and  Balcnced  Sentences.  —  Loose, 
periodic,  and  balanced  sentences  differ  widely  in  the  effect 
which  they  produce  upon  the  person  or  persons  addressed. 

Compare  the  effect  of  the  following  selections : 

I .  They  tell  you  a  story  in  Quebec  of  a  man  who  was  coming  one 
winter  morning  down  the  long  flight  of  stone  steps  leading  from  the  upper 
to  the  lower  town.  The  steps  were  covered  with  ice.  The  man  slipped 
and  started  bumping  down  the  long  flight,  on  his  back,  feet  foremost,  with 
incredible  velocity.  Just  as  he  began  to  gain  speed,  he  struck  an  old  lady 
who  was  carefully  picking  her  way  downward.  She  fell  plump  upon  the 
unfortunate  man  and  held  her  seat  through  his  dizzying  flight  until  he 
stopped  with  a  bump  at  the  end  of  the  long  journey.  He  was  bruised  and 
his  clothing  was  almost  stripped  from  him.  The  woman  retained  her  seat, 
holding  on  with  frantic  grasp  and  breathing  heavily.  "  Madam,"  said  the 
man,  with  grave  politeness,  '*  youUl  have  to  get  oft  here.  I  don't  go  any 
farther."  —  Harper's  Weekly. 


THE   SENTENCE  1 93 

2.  There  is  a  lesson  in  such  a  career  as  that  of  General  Wood.  The 
acceptance  of  every  opportunity,  the  keenness  to  see  and  the  trained  ability 
to  perform  each  duty  as  it  arises  is  the  open  sesame  to  success.  Even  a 
cursory  review  of  the  career  of  General  Wood  leads  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  nev^r  head  of  the  army  has  won  consistently  because  he  deserved  to  win. 

—  Cleveland  Plain  Dealer. 

3.  In  an  Alabama  jail  there  is  a  negro,  Alonzo  Bailey.  He  is  the  jail 
cook.  He  is  probably  unconscious  of  the  fact  that  he  has  raised  a  grave 
Constitutional  question.  His  case  has  been  submitted  to  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States.  Alonzo  Bailey  made  a  contract  in  writing  to  work 
for  the  Riverside  Company  twelve  months  for  twelve  dollars  a  month.  In 
consideration  of  signing  this  contract,  he  received  fifteen  dollars.  After 
working  one  month  and  four  days,  he  quit  work  and  did  not  refund  the 
fifteen  dollars  that  had  been  advanced  to  him.  The  Riverside  Company, 
charging  that  he  had  done  this  without  just  cause,  and  therefore  had  vio- 
lated a  criminal  statute  of  the  State,  had  him  committed.  This  statute, 
which  applies  to  landlords  as  well  as  to  employers,  provides  that  any  one 
who  makes  a  written  contract  to  perform  a  service  for  pay,  and  after  receiv- 
ing money  or  other  property  fails  to  perform  the  service  without  refunding 
the  money  or  pay  for  the  property,  must  be  fined  double  the  amount  of 
damage  suffered  by  the  injured  party,  but  not  more  than  three  hundred 
dollars,  one  half  of  the  fine  to  go  to  the  county  and  the  other  half  to  go  to 
the  injured  party.  According  to  the  penal  methods  of  Alabama,  a  person 
punished  by  fine,  who  is  unable  to  pay,  works  out  the  amount  at  hard 
labor  under  contractors  who  find  such  convict  labor  profitable.  It  is  true 
that  the  statute  qualifies  its  provision  by  the  phrase,  "  with  intent  to  injure 
or  defraud  his  employer'';  but  this  phrase  is  interpreted  by  the  further 
provision  of  the  statute  which  declares  that  ''  the  refusal  or  failure  of  any 
person  who  enters  into  such  contract,  to  perform  such  act  or  service  or  to 
cultivate  such  land,  or  refund  such  money,  or  pay  for  such  property,  with- 
out just  cause  shall  be  pritna  facie  evidence  of  the  intent  to  injure  his  em- 
ployer or  landlord  or  to  defraud  him."  In  other  words,  the  fact  that 
Alonzo  Bailey  quit  work  in  February,  1908,  was,  according  to  the  statute 
prima  facie  evidence  that  he  intended  to  defraud  his  employer  both  at  the 
time  he  quit  work  and  on  the  preceding  December  26,  the  day  that  he 
made  the  contract. 

4.  That  this  somewhat  dramatically  interprets  a  real  difference  between 
the  two  administrations  we  do  not  doubt  —  a  difference  partly  in  tempera- 
ment, partly  in  principle.     In  so  far  as  it  is  temperamental,  it  is  incapable 


194  PR.\CT1CAL   ENGLISH    COMPOSITION 

of  definition.  It  can  only  be  said  that  one  administration  is  more  eager, 
the  other  more  cautious  ;  one  puts  greater  emphasis  on  results,  the  other 
on  methods;  one  is  impatient  to  achieve,  the  other  waits  to  consider;  one 
assumes  authority  if  it  has  not  been  denied,  the  other  assumes  no  authority 
until  it  has  been  granted ;  one  is  Napoleonic,  the  other  Fabian ;  one  is 
militant,  the  other  legal,  both  seek  the  same  end,  both  are  progressive,  both 
approve 'the  proverb,  "Make  haste  slowly,''  but  one  lays  the  emphasis  on 
''haste,"  the  other  on  *' slowly'';  the  danger  in  the  one  temperament  is 
too  great  expedition,  the  danger  in  the  other  disastrous  delay. 
•     The  difference  in  principle  may  be  somewhat  more  accurately  defined. 

We  may  hold  that  the  Congress  is  the  sole  representative  of  the  people, 
and  that  the  Executive  Department  has  nothing  to  do  but  to  carry  out  the 
will  of  the  people  as  it  is  expressed  by  the  Acts  of  the  Congress.  Or  we 
may  hold  that  the  Executive  is  equally  with  the  Congress  the  representative 
of  the  people,  and  is  empowered  to  exercise  for  the  people  all  the  functions 
that  in  free,  popular  government  are  exercised  by  the  Executive  Depart- 
ment. In  the  one  case,  the  Congress  is  the  servant  of  the  people,  and  the 
Executive  is  the  servant  of  the  Congress.  In  the  other  case,  both  are  serv- 
ants of  the  people,  with  commensurate  powers,  so  that  the  Executive  is 
no  more  dependent  on  the  Congress  for  authority  to  perform  its  legitimate 
executive  functions  than  the  Congress  is  dependent  on  the  Executive  for 
authority  to  perform  its  legitimate  functions.  —  The  Outlook. 

The  effect  of  the  first  selection,  which  is  expressed  ahnost 
entirely  in  good  loose  sentences,  is  to  suggest  the  ease  and 
the  freedom  of  good  conversation.  The  effect  of  the  second 
selection,  which  is  expressed  entirely  in  periodic  sentences, 
is  to  keep  the  person  addressed  in  suspense  until  the  end. 
The  same  effect  is  produced  by  the  third  selection,  in  which 
the  periodic  form  predominates.  The  effect  of  the  fourth 
selection,  in  which  balanced  sentences  are  used  almost  en- 
tirely, is  to  give  clearness  and  force  to  the  thought  ex- 
pressed. 

Since  the  order  in  which  the  ideas  of  a  sentence  are  ex- 
pressed has  much  to  do  with  the  effect  of  the  sentence,  such 
an  arrangement  of  ideas  should  be  used  as  will  impress  upon 
the  person  or  persons  addressed  the  thought  intended. 


.-V 


THE   SENTENCE  1^5 

Length  of  Sentences.  —  Sentences  vary  in  length  according 
to  the  kind  of  thought  to  be  expressed  and  the  number  of  ideas 
required  to  convey  it  effectively  to  the  person  or  persons  ad- 
dressed. A  sentence  may  be  expressed  in  one  word,  as  in  the 
simplest  form  of  command,  or  it  may  consist  of  several  hundred 
words,  as  in  a  summing  up  of  the  points  of  an  explanation  or 
of  an  argument.  Strong  feeling,  such  as  excitement,  fright, 
indignation,  anger,  or  intensity  of  purpose,  naturally  expresses 
itself  in  short  sentences,  whereas  calm  judgment  and  more 
equable  emotion  naturally  find  expression  in  long  sentences. 
Any  one  variety  of  sentence  used  to  excess  becomes  tiresome. 
Too  many  short  sentences  disrupt  thought.  A  succession  of 
long,  loose  sentences  is  monotonous.  An  extended  series  of 
periodic  sentences  wearies  the  mind  until  it  ceases  to  grasp 
the  thought.  A  continued  series  of  balanced  sentences  loses 
force  from  its  very  weightiness.  The  most  effective  expres- 
sion of  thought  comes  through  a  happy  mingling  of  many 
varieties  of  sentences,  so  united  as  to  give  clearness,  grace, 
and  force  to  style. 

Unity,  Coherence,  and  Emphasis  of  the  Sentence.  —  No  mat- 
ter what  varieties  of  sentences  are  used  to  express  thought, 
every  sentence  must  be  a  unit ;  that  is,  it  must  conform  to  the 
principles  of  unity,  coherence,  and  emphasis. 

Sentence  Unity. — The  principle  of  unity  requires  that 
all  the  ideas  of  a  sentence  bear  upon  and  develop  a  single 
central  idea. 

Violations  of  Sentence  Unity.  The  Digression.  —  In  the  at- 
tempt to  select  ideas  that  develop  a  single  central  idea,  there 
are  several  common  ways  in  which  sentence  unity  is  violated. 
The  most  common,  perhaps,  is  the  introducing  of  an  idea  that 
does  not  bear  on  the  central  idea.  For  example,  in  the  sen- 
tence, "  The  chief  products  of  the  countryside  are  small  fruits 
and  garden  truck,  tJioiigJi  com  is  raised  in  considerable  qtiaii- 


^ 


196  PRACTICAL   ExNGLISH    COMPOSITION 

titles  only  fifty  miles  away,''  the  last  clause  has  no  bearing 
whatever  on  the  products  of  the  countryside  under  discussion, 
and  is  therefore  a  digression  to  be  avoided. 

Putting  into  One  Sentence  Ideas  that  belong  in  Two  Sen- 
tences.—  Another  common  violation  of  unity  in  a  sentence 
consists  of  putting  into  one  sentence  ideas  that  belong  in  two 
sentences.  For  example,  in  the  sentence,  **  I  am  a  hard 
worker,  but  my  sister  makes  good  bread,"  there  is  no  connec- 
tion whatever  between  the  thoughts  of  the  two  parts,  and  the 
ideas  should  be  expressed  in  two  disconnected  sentences. 

The  Bad  Loose  Sentence  or  "  Comma  Blunder." —  An  aggra- 
vated form  of  putting  into  one  sentence  ideas  that  belong  in 
more  than  one  sentence  occurs  in  the  bad  loose  sentence.  In 
the  sentence,  *'  As  the  trap  jolted  over  the  road  toward  our  sum- 
mer retreat  I  suddenly  looked  up  at  Arabella,  who  was  perched 
on  the  driver's  seat,  and  mutely  begged  for  the  privilege  of 
saying  a  few  kind  words,  for  when  Arabella  drives  she  drives 
with  all  her  heart  and  soul ;  and  there  had  been  times  when 
my  conversation  had  caused  her  to  pull  the  wrong  rein,  an 
event  which  had  always  filled  me  with  gratification  and 
delight  until  that  fateful  day  when  she  had  spilled  us  both 
out  into  the  blackberry  bushes,"  so  many  ideas  are  introduced 
that  it  is  impossible  to  recognize  any  central  thought.  The 
writer  has  simply  added  clause  after  clause,  as  one  idea  after 
another  came  into  his  mind,  and  has  paid  no  attention  whatever 
to  the  making  of  a  single  point.  In  order  to  become  a  unit, 
the  sentence  must  be  entirely  reconstructed. 

Putting  into  Two  Sentences  Ideas  that  belong  in  One  Sen- 
tence. —  A  somewhat  different  violation  of  sentence  unity 
consists  of  putting  into  two  sentences  ideas  that  are  really 
parts  of  the  same  unit  of  thought.  In  the  sentences,  "  Last 
year  less  than  forty  thousand  skins  were  sent  abroad.  And 
they  sold  for  about  four  dollars  apiece,"  it  is  evident  that  the 


THE   SENTENCE  197 

two  sentences  really  belong  to  the  same  unit  of  thought 
which  develops  as  a  central  idea,  the  scarcity  of  skins  with 
which  to  profit  from  advanced  prices.  The  two  ideas  should 
therefore  be  included  in  one  sentence. 

Giving  Sentence  Form  to  a  Construction  not  a  Sentence.  — 
Still  another  violation  of  unity  consists  of  expressing  as  a  full 
sentence  a  clause  or  a  phrase  that  is  only  a  part  of  a  thought. 
The  following  expressions  show  such  constructions  set  off  as 
sentences: 

Although  it  seemed  time  to  go. 

Hearing  a  sound.     Why  was  I  frightened? 

I  sent  him  to  the  store  for  help.     While  I  waited  in  impatience. 

These  expressions,  although  it  seemed  time  to  go,  hearing  a 
sound,  and  while  I  zvaited  in  impatience,  express  only  parts 
of  thoughts  and  should  not  be  written  as  if  they  were  com- 
plete sentences. 

Unnecessary  Change  of  Subject.  —  Another  violation  of 
sentence  unity  consists  in  changing  the  subject  of  a  sentence 
when  in  reality  the  same  agent  performs  or  receives  the  action 
expressed  by  the  verb.  In  the  sentence,  "  We  entered  the 
motor  boat,  and  it  took  us  in  and  out  among  the  islands  of  the 
bay,"  there  is  a  needless  and  confusing  change  of  subject. 
The  sentence  should  read  either,  **  We  entered  the  motor 
boat  and  sailed  in  and  out  among  the  islands  of  the  bay,"  or, 
**  We  entered  the  motor  boat  and  were  taken  in  and  out  among 
the  islands  of  the  bay." 

SUMMARY 

To  make  a  sentence  a  unit : 

1.  Use  the  ideas  which  will  bring  out  a  single  point. 

2.  Avoid  digressions. 

3.  Avoid  putting  into  one  sentence  ideas  that  belong  in  two  or  more 

sentences. 


igS  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH    COMPOSITION 

4.  Avoid  putting  into  two  sentences  ideas  that  belong  in  one  sentence. 
6.  Avoid  giving  sentence  form  to  constructions  that  are  not  sentences. 
6.   Avoid  an  unnecessary  change  of  subject. 

EXERCISE    XX 

Point  out  and  correct  the  lack  of  unity  in  the  following  sentences : 

1.  The  lady  of  the  house  rushed  out  and  picked  him  up  and  carried  him 
home,  he  had  fainted  and  had  also  broken  his  arm. 

2.  Like  any  other  youngsters,  the  baby  elephants  will  be  playing  about 
the  outer  edge  of  the  herd.  At  the  first  alarm  the  mothers  rush  about 
trumpeting  for  their  young,  and  it  is  in  such  a  moment  that  the  elephant 
hunter's  greatest  danger  lies. 

3.  He  had  corne  as  a  barber  to  Monsieur  Mirapoix,  and  when  he  had 
arrived  at  Bath,  England,  he  wished  to  have  an  introduction  to  the  most 
beautiful  lady  in  Bath. 

4.  Near  dusk"  the  next  night  the  party  happened  to  run  across  a 
scout  and  two  Mohicans  who  thought  it  funny  to  see  such  people  in  that 
part  of  the  country,  and  when  the  major  asked  him  how  near  he  was  to 
Fort  George,  the  scout  looked  at  him  and  said.  "  What  brings  you  this  far 
from  your  path  ?  ^' 

5.  Belshazzar  was  much  troubled  at  this,  and  called  in  all  the  great  men 
and  wise  men  to  decipher  the  writing,  but  none  could  do  it  until  some  one 
suggested  that  Daniel,  the  seer,  be  brought  in  to  see  if  he  could  not 
decipher  the  quotation. 

6.  David's  uncle  was  very  surprised  when  he  came  down  from  the  tower, 
and  the  next  day  he  was  taken  on  board  a  ship  and  kidnapped,  he  tried  to 
get  away,  but  was  wounded  and  thrown  into  the  hold  of  the  ship. 

7.  There  was  one  pas.senger  in  the  coach.  A  small,  dark-haired  person 
in  a  glossy  buff  calico  dress. 

8.  Then  they  carried  Felipe  into  the  house  ;  that  night  Senora  thought 
that  Felipe  would  like  Alessandro  to  sing,  so  he  did,  and  it  soothed  FeUpc 
right  away  ;  the  next  night  he  slept  out-of-doors,  and  it  was  the  custom  to 
see  all  the  family  on  the  south  veranda  with  Felipe. 

9.  Ivanhoe's  spear  struck  the  noble  Gilbert  in  the  center  of  the  shield, 
and  it  was  split  into  slivers. 

10.  I   expected  to  go  to-day.     But  I  finally  decided  to  wait  until  to- 
morrow. 

11.  We  arrived  at  Portland  at  3  p..m.,  where  the  train  was  left  in  a 
hurry,  the  motor  car  was  tilled  quickly,  and  we  dashed  oft"  to  Aunt  Sue's. 


THE    SENTENCE  1 99  \^ 

12.  Hearing  sounds  several  times.  My  study  was  interrupted  by  my 
stopping  to  listen. 

13.  De  Bracy  also  planned  to  capture  Rowena.  And  he  confided  his 
plan  to  his  friend. 

14.  Our  house  is  so  warm  and  sunny  that  we  are  comfortable  in  the 
coldest  weather,  though  our  neighbor  often  suffers  from  the  cold. 

In  order  that  a  sentence  may  be  a  unit,  ideas  which  bear 
upon  a  single  central  thought  must  be  so  arranged  and  so 
expressed  as  to  make  oneness  of  thought  evident;  i.e.,  the 
ideas  of  a  sentence  must  be  presented  in  accordance  with  the 
principles  of  coherence  and  of  emphasis. 

The  Principle  of  Coherence.  —  The  principle  of  coherence 
requires  that  the  ideas  of  a  sentence  be  so  arranged  and  so 
expressed  that  the  relation  between  ideas  shall  be  evident. 

If  a  sentence  is  to  be  coherent,  the  relation  between  two 
words,  one  of  which  is  dependent  on  the  other,  must  be  made 
evident. 

Faulty  Use  of  Personal  Pronouns.  —  One  common  cause  of 
incoherence  in  a  sentence  is  the  faulty  use  of  personal  pro- 
nouns. For  example,  the  sentence,  "  Charles  asked  James  if 
he  could  get  him  a  knife  as  he  knew  he  would  have  need  of  it," 
is  incoherent  because  the  antecedents  of  the  personal  pro- 
nouns are  not  clear.  The  sentence  may  have  one  of  several 
meanings.  It  may  mean  that  Charles  asked  James  if  Charles 
could  get  a  knife  for  himself  because  Charles  knew  that 
Charles  would  have  need  of  it ;  or  it  may  mean  that  Charles 
asked  James  if  Charles  could  get  a  knife  for  James  because 
Charles  knew  that  James  would  have  need  of  it :  or  it  may 
mean  that  Charles  asked  James  if  Charles  could  get  a 
knife  for  himself  because  James  knew  Charles  would  have 
need  of  it ;  and  so  on.  The  simplest  way  to  correct  so  inco- 
herent a  sentence  is  to  put  the  sentence  into  direct  discourse ; 
thus :  Charles  said  to  James,  "  May  I  get  myself  a  knife,  as 


1/ 

200  PRACTICAL    ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

I  know  that  I  shall  have  need  of  it  ?  "  or  CJiaj'les  said  to  James ^ 
"  May  I  get  a  knife  for  you,  as  I  know  that  you  will  have  need 
of  it  ? "  or  diaries  said  to  James^  "  May  I  get  a  knife  for  my- 
self ?  You  know  that  I  have  need  of  it;"  and  so  on.  What- 
ever the  form  of  correction,  the  antecedents  of  the  pronouns 
must  be  made  perfectly  clear. 

The  Dangling  Participle. —  Another  common  error  which 
results  in  a  lack  of  coherence  in  the  sentence  is  a  faulty  use 
of  the  participle.  In  the  sentence,  "  While  walking  to  the 
station,  the  whistle  of  the  train  sounded,  and  I  had  to  run,"  the 
participle  walking  is  used  incorrectly,  because  there  is  in 
the  sentence  no  word  which  names  the  doer  of  the  action 
expressed  by  the  participle.  A  participle  so  used  is  called  a 
dangling  participle.  To  correct  such  an  error,  the  sentence 
must  be  so  changed  that  the  name  of  the  doer  of  the  action 
suggested  by  the  participle  is  properly  expressed.  The  cor- 
rection may  be  made  in  one  of  two  ways  :  either  by  chang- 
ing the  main  proposition  so  as  to  express  the  name  of  the 
doer  of  the  action,  as,  While  walking  to  the  station^  I  Jieard 
the  traift  whistle,  and  I  had  to  rim ;  or  by  making  a  subordi- 
nate clause  out  of  the  participial  construction,  as,  While  I 
was  ivalking  to  the  station,  the  whistle  of  the  train  soimded  and 
I  had  to  ru7i.  A  speaker  or  writer  cannot  be  too  careful  to 
make  evident  the  relation  between  a  participle  and  the  word 
it  modifies. 

The  Squinting  Construction.  —  A  very  common  failure  to 
obtain  coherence  in  a  sentence  arises  from  the  placing  of  a 
modifier  so  that  it  is  impossible  to  tell  whether  it  modifies  a 
word  which  comes  before  it  in  the  sentence  or  a  word  which 
comes  after  it.  In  the  sentence,  "Tell  Mary,  if  she  comes 
to-morrow,  I  shall  not  be  able  to  see  her,"  it  is  impossible  to 
tell  whether  the  clause,  if  she  comes  to-morrow,  modifies  tell  or 
modifies  see.      A  construction  which,  from  the  context,   may 


THE   SENTENCE 

modify  either  something  before  it  or  something  after  it  i. 
squinting  construction.  To  correct  such  an  error,  the  mis- 
placed modifier  must  be  put  where  it  can  modify  but  one 
word.  The  sentence  under  discussion  may  be  corrected  in 
one  of  two  ways  :  (i)  If  she  comes  to-morrow^  tell  Mary  that 
I  shall  not  be  able  to  see  her ;  or  (2)  Tell  Mary  that  I  shall  not 
be  able  to  see  her  if  she  comes  to-morrow. 

The  Misuse  of  Conjunctions.  —  A  failure  to  show  the  cor- 
rect relation  of  ideas  comes  often  from  the  use  of  connectives 
that  express  a  relation  different  from  that  demanded  by  the 
thought.  The  misuse  of  "and"  and  "but"  is  a  common 
error.  In  the  sentence,  "  Father  told  me  to  wait  for  him,  and 
I  went  home,"  the  thought  expressed  in  the  second  member 
suggests  an  act  committed  in  direct  opposition  to  the  request 
stated  in  the  first  member  of  the  sentence  ;  hence  the  conjunc- 
tion but  should  be  used  instead  of  the  cumulative  conjunction 
and.  The  sentence  should  read,  Father  told  me  to  iv ait  for 
him,  but  I  went  home.  In  making  evident  the  relation  be- 
tween ideas,  great  care  must  be  taken  to  use  connectives  that 
express  the  right  relation  of  ideas. 

The  Misplacing  of  Modifiers.  —  Another  cause  of  incoherence 
in  the  sentence  is  the  failure  to  place  modifiers  as  near  as  pos- 
sible to  the  words  which  they  modify.  No  errors  in  con- 
struction occur  more  commonly  in  everyday  speech  and  writing 
than  the  misplacing  of  adjectives  and  adverbial  elements  and 
of  correlative  conjunctions. 

The  Misplacing  of  Relative  Clauses.  — An  adjective  element 
frequently  misplaced  is  the  adjective  clause  introduced  by  the 
relative  pronoun.  A  relative  pronoun  should  be  placed,  if 
possible,    immediately   after   its   antecedent.     For   example, 

the  sentence,"  Mr.  A left  the  umbrella  in  the  train  which 

he  meant  to  give  his  wife,"  is  incoherent  because  the  relative 
pronoun  which  is  so  placed  that  it  modifies  the  noun  train 


^,^ 


202  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITIOxN 

instead  of  the  noun  umbrella.     The  sentence  should  be  cor- 
rected to  read,  Mr.  A left  i7i  the  train  the  Jinibrella  which 

d     he  meant  to  give  his  zvife. 
\\  The  Misplacing  of  Adjective  Phrases.  —  Adjective  phrases 

are  also  often  misplaced.  For  example,  in  the  sentence, 
y  "  Every  one  ate  his  fill  of  the  good  things,  including  little  Tim," 
the  adjective  modifier  including  little  Tim  is  so  placed  as  to 
seem  to  modify  the  word  things  instead  of  the  word  every  one 
which  it  is  meant  to  modify.  The  suggested  meaning  is,  of 
course,  absurd.  The  sentence  should  be  so  corrected  that 
the  modifier  comes  next  the  word  it  modifies  ;  as.  Every  one, 
including  little  Tim,  ate  his  Jill  of  the  good  thifigs. 

The  Misplacing  of  Adverbial  Clauses  and  Adverbial  Phrases. — 
Adverbial  clauses  and  adverbial  phrases  are  frequently  mis- 
placed. In  the  sentence,  **  I  sent  him  to  study  after  I  had 
finished  speaking,"  the  clause  after  I  had  finished  speaking  is 
so  placed  as  to  modify  the  word  st?idy  instead  of  the  word 
sejit.  The  sentence  should  be  corrected  so  that  the  clause 
will  modify  the  correct  word;  as,  After  I  had  finished  speak- 
ing  I  sent  him  to  study.  In  the  sentence,  "  I  saw  that  the  man 
was  hurrying  at  a  glance,"  the  adverbial  phrase  at  a  glance  is 
so  placed  as  to  seem  to  modify  the  verb  was  hurrying  instead 
of  the  verb  saw,  which  it  should  modify.  The  corrected  sen- 
tence should  read,  I  saw  at  a  glance  that  the  mati  was  hurry- 


1)1  ST' 


The  Misuse  of  "  Only  "  and  "Alone."  —  Among  the  adverbial 
elements  that  are  most  commonly  misplaced  are  the  adverbs 
only  2iTL^  alone.  In  the  sentence,  '*  The  storekeeper  would  only 
reserve  two  pairs  of  gloves  for  me,"  the  word  only  should  mod- 
ify the  word  two  and  should  be  placed  directly  before  it. 
The  sentence  should  read,  **  The  storekeeper  would  reserve 
only  two  pairs  of  gloves  for  me."  In  the  sentence,  "  The  bur- 
glar robbed  one  house  alone,"  the  meaning  is  not  clear,  for  the 


THE   SENTENCE  203 

sentence  may  mean  that  only  one  burglar  robbed  the  house,  < 
or  it  may  mean  that  the  burglar  robbed  but  one  house. 
The  sentence  must  be  corrected  so  that  there  can  be  no 
question  as  to  the  meaning.  It  may  read,  Alofie,  the  burglar 
robbed  one  house  ;  or  the  word  alone  may  be  changed  to  ojily^ 
and  the  sentence  may  read,  The  burglar  robbed  only  one  house. 

The  Misplacing  of  Correlatives.  —  The  misplacing  of  correla- 
tive conjunctions  is  another  error  which  makes  a  sentence  inco- 
herent. In  the  sentence,  **  You  may  either  buy  a  picture  or  a 
set  of  books  with  your  money,"  the  correlative  conjunctions, 
eitJier  —  <?r,  are  not  placed  before  words  in  corresponding  con- 
structions, hence  the  sentence  lacks  clearness  of  expression. 
The  sentence  should  read.  You  may  buy  either  a  picture  or  a 
set  of  books  with  your  money. 

In  arranging  adjective  and  adverbial  elements,  a  speaker 
or  writer  should  be  careful  to  see  that  no  word  comes  between 
the  modifier  and  the  word  modified  to  steal  the  modification. 
Whenever  possible,  modifiers  should  be  placed  immediately 
before  or  immediately  after  the  words  they  modify.  When 
using  correlative  conjunctions,  a  speaker  or  writer  must  be 
careful  to  place  the  correlatives  before  words  in  correspond- 
ing- constructions. 

Similarity  in  Relation  expressed  in  Similar  Construction. — 
Often,  a  sentence  may  be  made  coherent  by  putting  into  similar 
constructions  ideas  that  are  similar  in  relation.  In  the  sen- 
tence, *'  He  seems  well  and  to  have  an  excellent  appetite,"  the 
change  from  a  simple  adjective  to  an  infinitive  construction 
tends  to  be  confusing.  The  mind  expects  either  another  ad- 
jective or  a  sentence  member  coordinate  with  he  seems  zuell. 
The  ideas  to  be  expressed  are  similar  in  relation  and  similar 
in  importance,  and  should  be  expressed  in  like  constructions. 
The  sentence  may  be  corrected  to  read.  He  seems  well  and 
has  a?i  excellent  appetite^  or.  He  seems  to  be  ivell  atid  to  have 


\ 


i 


204  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION 

an  excellent  appetite.  In  the  sentence,  ''Imagine  yourself  in 
Paris,  and  that  the  time  is  that  of  the  French  Revolution, 
lack  of  coherence  is  caused  by  putting  into  a  noun  clause  an 
idea  that  should  be  expressed  in  an  adverbial  phrase  coordi- 
nate with  in  Paris.  The  sentence  should  read.  Imagine  your- 
self in  Paris  in  the  time  of  the  French  Revolution. 

SUMMARY 

To  make  a  sentence  coherent : 

1.  Make  evident  the  relation  between  two  words  one  of  which  is 

dependent  on  the  other  by  avoiding : 
a.  The  faulty  use  of  personal  pronouns. 
h.   The  dangling  participle. 

c.  The  squinting  construction. 

d.  The  misuse  of  conjunctions. 

e.  The  misplacing  of  modifiers,  such  as : 

(1)  Relative  clauses. 

(2)  Adjectives  phrases. 

(3)  Adverbial  clauses  and  phrases. 

(4)  Adverbs  Uke  only  and  alone. 

f.  The  misplacing  of  correlative  conjtmctions. 

2.  Put  ideas  similar  in  relation  into  similar  constructions. 


I 


EXERCISE    XXI 


S^ 


I     Point  out  and  correct  the  lack  of  coherence  in  the  following  sentences  : 
i      I.    After  floating  for  a  distance  in  the  air,  a  revolver  was  to  be  shot  off 
for  a  signal  to  descend. 

2.  One  day  a  boy  wanted  to  climb  a  cherry  tree  in  a  woman's  yard 
whom  he  knew. 

3.  While  sitting  in  the  parlor,  the  doorbell  rang. 

~4.    Behind  the  village  the  mountains  rose  up,  which  adds  to  its  pretti- 
ness. 

5.  Going  up  a  hill,  a  church  was  seen. 

6.  There  were  two  young  women  and  a  man  who  wore  the  stripes  of  a 
major  and  an  Indian  scout. 


THE    SENTENCE  205 

/  7.  The  scout  thought  it  best  to  capture  the  Indian,  and  though  they 
tried  their  hardest,  the  Indian  escaped. 

8.  This  rent  Abraham's  heart,  but  he  bound  his  boy  and  put  him  on 
the  altar,  when  a  voice  flaming  fire  was  seen  writing  on  the  wall. 

9.  When  the  fence  is  whitewashed,  Tom  goes  away  being  richer  by 
bribing. 

10.    I  only  learned  one  of  my  lessons. 

(a\.  My  cousin  asked  father  if  he  could  take  a  party  of  his  friends  out 
sleighing  next  week  with  the  new  sled  because  he  would  have  the  time  if 
he  would  permit  the  horses  to  be  used  for  a  long  trip. 

^\t^   Tell  my  sister,  when  she  goes  away,  I  shall  not  hurry  home. 

13.  I  sent  not  only  provisions,  but  I  carried  money  as  well. 

14.  Mary  was  either  there  or  my  eyesight  played  me  a  trick. 

15.  To  throw  the  hammer  requires  one  kind  of  strength  and  skill; 
running  requires  a  somewhat  difi"erent  kind. 

16.  To  play  all  outdoor  games  well,  walking,  riding,  and  music  were 
her  ambitions. 

It  is  not  enough  that  the  ideas  in  a  sentence  be  so  arranged 
and  so  expressed  that  the  relation  between  them  is  evident; 
they  should  be  so  arranged  and  so  expressed  that  their  relative 
importance  is  evident. 

The  Principle  of  Emphasis.  —  The  principle  of  emphasis 
requires  that  the  words  which  impress  the  central  idea  of  a 
sentence  be  made  prominent. 

Emphasis  by  Position.  —  The  prominent  places  in  a  sentence 
are  the  beginning  and  the  end,  hence  they  should  be  reserved 
for  words  which  express  ideas  that  are  important  in  developing 
the  central  idea.  Many  times  a  sentence  lacks  emphasis  be- 
cause words  which  express  ideas  of  little  importance  are  given 
one  or  both  of  these  emphatic  positions.  In  the  sentence,  '*  It 
will  interest  you  to  know  that  our  trip  was  the  most  successful 
of  our  entire  experience,"  there  is  lack  of  emphasis  because 
the  words  at  the  beginning  of  the  sentence  express  an  idea 
of  no  consequence  whatever  in  its  bearing  on  the  central 
idea,  Our  trip  was  the  most  successful  of  our  expefience.     The 


2o6  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH    COMPOSITION 

emphasis  is  further  impaired  by  the  fact  that,  though  the 
words  which  express  the  central  idea  come  last  in  the  sen- 
tence, the  central  idea  is  expressed  in  a  subordinate  clause 
nistead  of  in  a  principal  clause  because  of  the  construc- 
tion necessitated  by  the  weak  beginning.  Emphasis  can  be 
gained  easily  by  omitting  the  weak  beginning  and  throwing 
the  central  idea  into  the  single  main  proposition,  Our  trip 
zvas  the  most  successful  of  our  cntii'e  experience.  If,  for  any 
reason,  it  is  advisable  to  include  the  expression,  You  may  be 
interested  to  know,  it  should  be  put  in  the  middle  of  the  sen- 
tence because  it  is  parenthetical  in  nature.  The  sentence 
may  read.  Our  trip,  you  may  be  ijiterested  to  knozu,  was  the 
most  successful  of  our  experience.  Ideas  should  always  be 
expressed  in  constructions  which  indicate  their  relative  im- 
portance. Ideas  of  minor  importance  should  be  in  the  middle 
of  the  sentence. 

The  sentence,  "When  the  gold  is  about  the  150,000th  part 
of  an  inch  in  thickness,  it  for  the  first  time  permits  the  trans- 
mission of  light,  at  the  second  hour,"  lacks  emphasis  because 
the  words  at  the  end  express  an  idea  that  is  comparatively 
unimportant,  though  it  has  some  bearing  on  the  central  idea. 
Emphasis  is  easily  gained  by  transferring  the  phrase  at  the 
end  to  the  beginning  ;  thus.  At  tJie  second  Jwiu\  w/ie?t  the  gold 
is  about  the  150,000th  part  of  an  inch  in  tJiickness,  it  for  the 
first  time  permits  the  transmission  of  light.  The  sentence, 
"This  bank  will  close  at  i  p.m.  from  May  15  to  Oct.  i,"  is  not 
as  emphatic  as  it  should  be  because  the  words  "  This  bank 
will  close,"  which  are  less  important  than  the  unusual  time 
of  closing,  are  given  one  of  the  most  important  positions  in 
the  sentence.  The  sentence  should  read.  From  May  75  to 
Oct.  I,  this  bank  will  close  at  i  p.m. 

Emphasis  by  Transposition.  —  Sometimes  emphasis  may  be 
gained  by  putting  an  idea  out  of  its  natural  order.     In  the 


THE    SENTENCE 


207 


sentence,  "  Their  guide,  a  little  peasant  in  a  gray  kaftan  and 
a  white  cap,  walked  a  short  distance  ahead  of  them,"  emphasis 
is  so  evenly  distributed  that  no  idea  stands  out  with  marked 
prominence.  A  marked  increase  in  emphasis  may  be  gained 
by  transposing  the  subject  and  the  predicate  of  the  sentence  i 
thus,  A  sJiort  distance  ahead  of  them  walked  their  guide,  a  little 
peasant  in  a  gray  kaftati  and  a  white  cap.  In  this  sentence, 
attention  is  focused  on  the  central  idea  of  the  sentence,  the 
guide  and  his  appearance.  In  transposing  sentence  elements, 
a  speaker  or  a  writer  must  be  careful  not  to  violate  the  laws 
of  grammar  or  of  coherence. 

Emphasis  by  Use  of  Climax.  —  An  excellent  method  of 
gaining  emphasis  in  a  sentence  is  the  arranging  of  ideas 
in  the  order  of  increasing  importance;  i.e.,  in  the  order  of 
climax.  In  the  sentence,  "  She  (Elizabeth)  listened,  she 
weighed,  she  used  or  put  by  the  counsels  of  each  in  turn, 
but  her  policy  as  a  whole  was  her  own,"  perfect  emphasis 
is  gained  through  perfect  climactic  order.  If  the  order  of 
climax  is  used,  care  must  be  taken  to  put  the  details  in  the 
order  of  increasing  importance.  The  sentence,  *'  Scarce  an 
enemy  could  be  seen,  though  the  forest  resounded  with  their 
yells ;  though  the  lead  flew  like  a  hailstorm,  and  with  every 
moment  the  men  went  down  by  scores  ;  though  every  bush  and 
tree  was  alive  with  flashes,"  lacks  emphasis  because  what  are 
really  details  of  a  climax  are  not  expressed  in  climactic  order. 
The  sentence  should  read,  Scarce  an  enemy  could  be  seefi, 
though  the  forest  resounded  ivitJi  their  yells ;  though  e:'ery 
busJi  and  ti'ee  ivas  alive  with  incessant  flashes  ;  though  the 
lead  fleiv  like  a  hailstorm,  a7id  with  every  tnoment  the  vien 
went  dozvfi  by  scores.  If  a  number  of  details  are  presented 
in  the  order  of  decreasing  importance,  the  result  is  an  anti- 
cUmax.  If  Caesar's  famous  utterance  had  been  expressed 
in  reverse  order,  /  conquered,  I  came,  I  saw,  the  effect  would 


2o8  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

have  been  weak  and  ridiculous.     The  anticlimax  is  to  be 
avoided,  unless  it  is  used  for  the  purpose  of  wit  or  ridicule. 

Emphasis  by  Kind  and  Number  of  Words.  —  If  a  sentence 
is  to  be  emphatic,  it  should  be  expressed  in  as  few  words 
as  will  express  the  thought  with  accuracy  and  with  clearness. 
There  are  two  ways  in  which  too  many  words  manifest  them- 
selves. In  the  sentence,  "  Have  you  any  of  those  little,  small, 
tiny  pins.'*"  three  words  of  similar  meaning  are  used  instead 
of  one  word  to  indicate  the  kind  of  pins  wanted.  Such  need- 
less repetition  of  the  same  idea,  i.e.,  tautology,  should  be 
avoided.  In  the  sentences,  "  The  audience  rose  up  and 
cheered,"  *'  The  matter  was  referred  back  to  me  to  be  settled," 
the  words  up  and  back,  respectively,  are  superfluous.  They 
should  therefore  be  omitted. 


SUMMARY 

To  make  a  sentence  emphatic : 

1.  Avoid  weak  endings  and  weak  beginnings. 

2.  Express  ideas  in  constructions  which  indicate  their  relative  im- 

portance. 

3.  Put  ideas  of  minor  importance  in  the  middle  of  the  sentence. 

4.  If  necessary,  when  it  is  grammatically  possible,  transpose  ideas  to 

focus  attention  on  them. 

5.  Arrange  ideas  in  the  order  of  climax. 

6.  Avoid  tautology. 

7.  Avoid  superfluous  words. 

EXERCISE    XXII 

Point  out  and  correct  in  the  following  sentences  the  violations  of  the 
principle  of  emphasis : 

1.  The  major  got  very  anxious  finally  as  they  were  traveling  in  a 
crooked  course. 

2.  Before  Rebecca  became  restless,  they  had  gone  a  great  distance, 
when  she  called  to  the  cab  driver  to  please  halt  and  let  her  climb  up  on 
top  with  him. 


THE   SENTENCE  209 

3.  A  great,  big  tree  grew  on  the  edge  of  the  wood  lot,  and  we  children 
used  to  play  under  it. 

4.  On  the  side  of  that  mountain,  there  is  a  gloomy  and  dark  cavern 
where  no  one  ever  goes. 

5.  Imprisoned  in  bush  through  which  elephants  easily  crash,  the  sports- 
man is  in  collision  with  the  beast  before  there  is  time  to  stop  him  with  a 
shot  in  the  chest,  the  only  vital  spot  in  a  charging  African  elephant,  or 
even  time  for  the  elephant,  from  surprise  or  fear,  to  swerve. 

6.  The  speaker  seated  himself  down  on  the  bench  rather  quickly  at  this. 

7.  The  Colonel  asked  and  questioned  all  the  slaves  but  no  one  had 
seen  a  stranger  about  the  plantation. 

8.  Nations  make  a  common  progress,  like  vessels  on  a  common  tide, 
according  to  their  several  structures  and  management,  all  moved  forward 
by  one  mighty  current,  strong  enough  to  bear  onward  whatever  does  not 
sink  beneath  it,  but  propelled  by  the  gales  at  different  rates. 

9.  You  may  be  sure  that  the  boys  hurried  home  as  fast  as  they  could 
go  when  they  heard  the  good  news. 

10.  The  question  as  to  who  should  be  class  photographer  was  again 
referred  back  to  the  class. 

11.  That  play  is  against  the  rules  of  the  game,  at  least  I  think  it  is. 

Test  of  Sentence  for  Unity.  —  If  the  ideas  of  a  sentence  are 
so  selected,  so  arranged,  and  so  expressed  as  to  form  a  unit 
of  thought,  the  central  idea  of  the  sentence  may  be  sum- 
marized in  a  single  word  or  in  a  group  of  words.  For 
example,  in  the  sentence,  "Valor  is  the  expression  of  both 
physical  and  moral  courage,"  the  central  idea  is  the  nature  of 
valor. 

In  the  sentence,  "  This  trusty  emissary,  keeping  close  to 
Robert,  was  a  witness  of  the  meeting  held  by  the  conspirators 
with  the  Genoese  leaders  under  cover  of  this  raid,  and  heard 
it  planned  between  them  how  on  that  very  night,  after  the 
Venetian  mercenaries  had  been  driven  back,  a  sudden  attack 
should  be  made  by  the  Genoese  on  the  camp  with  the 
assistance  of  the  traitors  within  it,  so  that  the  rout  and  destruc- 
tion of  the  besiegers  should  be  certain  and  the  way  of  exit 
from  Chiogga  be  thrown  open,"  the  central  idea  may  be  sum- 


2IO  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

marized  in  the  words,  the  spys  discovery  of  the  plot  between 
the  Gejwese  and  the  traitors  in  camp.  If  it  is  impossible  to 
summarize  tlie  thought  of  a  sentence  in  a  word  or  a  group  of 
words,  either  because  there  are  in  the  sentence  so  many  diverse 
ideas  that  there  is  no  one  central  idea  or  because  there  is  in 
the  sentence  a  single  idea  which  does  not  bear  on  the  prevail- 
ing thought,  then  the  sentence  is  not  a  unit  of  thought  and 
should  be  reconstructed. 

EXERCISE   XXIII 

Point  out  and  correct  the  errors  in  the  following  sentences,  in  each  case 
stating  the  rule  which  applies : 

1.  Pretty  soon  there  were  two  ladies  to  be  seen  issuing  from  a  build- 
ing escorted  by  a  man. 

2.  In  it  was  a  man  dressed  to  represent  Bonnie  Prince  Charlie.  Also 
three  young  girls  in  the  regular  costume. 

3.  We  got  leave  from  our  mother  to  go,  so  we  each  took  a  pail  and  a 
big  hat  to  shade  our  eyes  from  the  sun  and  our  lunch. 

4.  The  other  evening,  after  the  last  large  snowstorm,  some  friends 
and  myself  were  invited  for  a  sleigh  ride. 

5.  After  he  had  stolen  it,  he  was  walking  toward  home  when  he 
suddenly  became  aware  of  the  fact  that  he  was  falling  over  a  precipice.  A 
steep  one  at  that. 

6.  One  day,  as  I  was  walking  along  the  street,  I  saw  a  banana  cart 
and  purchased  some  of  them. 

7.  While  away  on  my  summer  vacation  about  four  years  ago.  We 
went  to  a  very  lonely  place. 

8.  After  we  took  it  off  from  the  stove,  we  put  the  vanilla  in  and  began 
beating  it. 

9.  We  used  the  right  recipe  and  put  it  on  to  boil. 

ID.  I  am  sure  every  one  had  a  splendid  time  and  enjoyed  themselves 
that  day. 

u.  What  interested  me  very  much  as  I  looked  around  was  that  in  the 
Shubert  theater  they  have  women  ushers  instead  of  men,  who  are  dressed 
alike  in  blue  serge  uniforms. 

12.  Looking  to  the  southwest  was  a  large  green  field,  where  cows 
were  peacefully  grazing  in  contentment.     At  the  end  of  the  field  stood  a 


THE    SENTENCE  211 

barn  and  a  row  of  houses.  Then  far  away  could  be  seen  the  Blue  Hills  in 
the  dark  blue  garments.  On  the  top  of  the  highest  one  stood  the 
observatory  clearly  seen  against  the  sky. 

13.  The  room  was  dark,  and  a  big  pumpkin  was  on  the  table,  which 
had  been  scooped  out. 

14.  After  pulling  and  batting  with  clubs  and  axes,  the  fish  was  killed 
and  towed  ashore. 

15.  While  walking  along  the  street  the  other  day,  I  came  across  a  boy 
of  about  fifteen  years  of  age  and  five  feet  tall. 

16.  There  she  sat  in  the  canoe  as  jolly  and  a  perfect  picture  of  girlhood. 

17.  I  have  a  friend  about  fourteen  years  old,  and  is  of  about  medium 
size. 

18.  Her  deep  blue  eyes  were  filled  with  mirth  and  her  cheeks  resembling 
roses. 

19.  It  was  interesting  to  try  and  find  where  I  lived  and  other  buildings 
near  my  home. 

20.  Caesar  showed  himself  weak-willed  when  he  refused  the  crown  that 
Mark  Antony  offered  him  three  times,  more  hesitatingly  each  time. 

21.  Portia  was  a  woman  like  Brutus  was  a  man. 

22.  The  most  striking  features  of  her  face  are  her  eyes  which  are  large 
brown  ones  and  which  shine  like  stars,  and  are  almost  hidden  by  her  long 
curly  eyelashes  which  rest  on  her  cheeks  of  rosy  complexion. 

23.  This  together  with  her  firm  chin  show  her  character  more  than  any 
other  feature. 

24.  He  lay  leaning  up  agaitist  the  counter  of  the  cobbler's  shop,  long, 
lank,  and  lean  in  all  the  glory  of  his  height  of  six  feet  and  his  age  of  forty 
years. 

25.  The  place  we  had  to  pass  there  was  a  very  old  looking  house  and 
very  lonely  looking. 

26.  Because,  if  Brutus  did  not  join  the  conspiracy,  Caesar  would  not 
have  received  the  death  he  did. 

27.  Portia  and  Calpurnia  were  very  different  in  many  respects.  Portia 
was  strong-willed  and  strong-minded,  while  Calpurnia  was  weak  in  both  of 
these. 

28.  It  shows  his  selfishness  when  he  didn't  have  the  courage  to  tell 
Nancy  Lammeter  that  he  had  been  married  before  he  married  her.  Because 
he  thought  that  if  he  told  her,  she  would  not  marry  him. 

29.  They  thought  him  to  be  a  wizard  of  some  sort  and  they  left  him  to 
himself.     None  of  the  neighbors  ever  calling  on  him  for  sociability. 


212  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

30.  Gareth  wanted  to  win  the  quest  known  as  the  kitchen  scullion. 

31.  He  received  the  armor  with  which  he  disguised  himself  from  the 
home  of  Elaine. 

32.  The  guide  now  told  us  to  be  very  careful  as  we  were  approaching 
a  dangerous  place  and  that  one  misstep  would  mean  death. 

33.  It  was  raining  slowly,  but  steady,  and  the  air  was  quite  cool. 

34.  I  now  began  to  see  that  we  would  come  short  of  provisions  but 
when  I  told  the  fellows,  they  told  me  to  "  forget  it  "  and  that  they  were 
not  going  to  starve. 

35.  He  had  very  peculiar  features,  small  head  with  a  brown  cap  on  one 
side,  and  dark  piercing  eyes. 

36.  After  waiting  awhile,  a  window  on  the  second  floor  was  thrown 
open,  and  a  cross,  tired  man's  voice  asked  what  was  wanted. 

37.  So  he  saw  now  that,  since  Darnay  was  doomed  to  death,  he  could 
take  his  place  as  they  looked  alike,  just  for  the  love  of  Lucy. 

38.  Dickens  has  put  it  (the  French  Revolution)  into  story  form  where 
it  could  be  made  history  and  has. 

39.  After  a  day^s  travel  they  arrive  at  the  station  and  all  pile  out  jogging 
one  another  where  they  pile  into  the  wagons  waiting  for  them  ;  finally,  they 
arrive  at  their  destination  where  they  all  pile  out  and  peel  off  their  outer 
clothing  and  prepare  to  build  a  log  house  which  is  thrown  up  in  no  time. 

40.  Lucy  Manette  was  a  very  weak  character.  She  was  always  fainting  at 
the  critical  minute. 

41.  One  day  Ruth's  mother  asked  her  to  go  to  the  store  for  her.  But 
Ruth  wanted  to  play,  and  she  fussed  a  great'deal. 

42.  We  got  into  the  house  just  as  they  were  getting  up  from  the  supper 
table.  And  we  were  rushed  into  dry  clothes  and  put  to  bed,  then  the 
other  children  gathered  round  and  we  told  them  of  our  experience. 

43.  When  I  was  about  three  years  old,  I  was  always  getting  into  some- 
thing. Anywhere  from  getting  into  the  kerosene  can  up  to  getting  run 
over  by  a  bicycle  or  a  team. 

44.  She  curls  her  hair  on  either  side  and  braids  it. 

45.  There  was  a  kitchenette,  two  sleeping  and  a  dining  room. 

46.  The  waves  are  not  very  high,  the  rock  shielding  the  bathers,  and 
only  small  ones  come  in. 

47.  The  little  cottage,  surrounded  by  trees  and  bushes,  held  one  en- 
tranced as  they  gazed  at  it. 

48.  As  an  orator,  the  difference  in  the  way  Antony  moves  the  mob  and 
the  way  Brutus  does. 


THE   SENTENCE  213 

49.  When  the  table  was  all  set,  with  the  nicely  cooked  fish  and  nice  new 
milk  and  everything  tempting. 

50.  One  of  the  most  important  dangers  to  the  writer  and  in  fact  which 
most  all  his  mistakes  are  based  on,  namely,  false  beginnings  and  digressions. 

51.  Her  head  thrown  back  as  she  offered  a  hand  for  assistance. 

52.  A  little  red  house  on  the  banks  of  a  beautiful  lake.  Trees  all  round 
it,  and  a  little  barn  behind  it. 

53.  The  structure  of  both  poems  are  contrasted  with  each  other. 

54.  If  one  is  walking  along  in  a  strange  place  and  sees  a  sign,  "  Win- 
throp  five  miles,"  they  naturally  think  that  if  you  go  five  miles  in  that 
direction  you  will  reach  Winthrop. 

55.  The  trees  with  the  ice  making  it  dazzling. 

56.  He  wants  to  live  like  a  hermit  and  attend  to  all  its  duties. 

57.  Here  and  there  could  be  seen  tall  and  medium-sized  smokestacks 
whose  mouths  would  send  forth  great  clouds  of  smoke,  easily  showing  that  it 
was  a  manufacturing  village.  While  between  the  town  and  me  were  many 
houses  of  shapes  and  colors  with  a  field  or  large  garden  surrounding  it. 

58.  Most  of  the  cooking  utensils  are  kept  at  Dedham  in  our  locker 
saving  us  a  little  trouble. 

59.  While  visiting  in  Maine  this  summer,  my  uncle  took  me  through  a 
paper  mill  in  which  he  worked. 

60.  When  it  grew  dusk  I  laid  my  book  aside  to  watch  the  sunset,  which 
was  my  favorite  occupation  at  that  time  of  day. 

61.  One  of  the  boys  threw  a  snowball,  and  hit  a  man  who  was  passing 
on  the  hat  and  knocked  his  hat  off. 

62.  We  set  camp  on  a  farmer's  grounds  named  Brown. 

63.  One  day  in  June,  as  I  lay  in  my  hammock  in  a  half-dazed  condition, 
the  silence  was  suddenly  broken  by  the  shrill  laughter  of  a  girl  that  sounded 
familiar. 

64.  A  person's  character  is  very  often  judged  by  the  way  other  people 
treat  them. 

65.  The  191 5  Exposition  afforded  great  enjoyment  to  the  public  as  well 
as  being  greatly  instructive. 

66.  Anybody  can  learn  to  swim  if  they  like  the  water  and  take  time  and 
energy  to  practice  it. 

67.  Sabrina's  song  shows  the  scene  of  the  water  where  she  lives  bor- 
dered on  the  banks  by  willow  trees  and  shrubs. 

68.  Cranberries  can  grow  most  anywhere,  but  the  best  grow  on  the 
Cape.     They  are  picked  different  ways ;  some  women  pick  by  hand,  but 


214 


PRACTICAL   ENGLISH    COMPOSITION 


the  men  pick  with  machines  ;  they  grow  on  vines  that  creep  on  the  ground  ; 
they  have  wiry  leaves.  The  berry  being  ripe  in  the  spring,  it  is  made 
into  many  things.  The  Portuguese  men  do  most  of  the  picking;  after 
they  are  picked,  they  are  put  into  boxes,  and  then  the  women  pick  out  the 
best  and  put  them  in  pans  taken  to  the  barn  to  be  washed  and  then  put  in 
barrels  for  shipping.  They  have  two  classes :  the  men  or  women  that  pick 
by  hand  are  not  expected  to  pick  as  many  as  those  who  pick  by  machines, 
although  they  get  as  much  pay  for  doing  so. 

69.  Once  upon  a  time,  while  sitting  on  a  couch  reclining  on  my  sofa 
pillows,  I  gazed  dreamily  at  the  walls  and  ceilings,  my  mind  wandering 
back  to  some  of  my  old  acquaintances,  especially  one. 

70.  First  he  lighted  two  cigars,  and,  after  placing  one  in  his  mouth,  he 
smoked  the  other  at  ease,  and  then  calmly  took  the  other  out  of  his 
mouth,  which  still  continued  to  burn. 

71.  Around  the  platform  stood  the  Indians,  in  a  semicircle  decked 
with  feathers  and  beads  with  very  little  clothing  on. 

72.  Evening  soon  came  on,  and  we  retired  early  in  our  much  upset 
house,  and  with  a  great  deal  of  broken  furniture,  not  much  the  worse  for 
our  day's  experience. 

A  Fishing  Experience 

73.  When  I  was  in  Wayland,  Mass.,  a  couple  of  other  boys  and  myself 
decided  to  go  fishing  over  on  the  Sudbury  River.  John,  Wes,  and  I.  John 
took  his  maple  rod,  Westly  his  bamboo,  while  I  took  my  trusty  rod  of 
steel.  Going  over  the  marsh  we  got  our  feet  soaking  wet.  Right  in  front 
of  us  we  saw  a  wild  duck  rise,  we  at  once  let  some  bricks  drive,  one  of 
which  came  about  six  inches  from  the  bird's  body.  Passing  an  apple  tree 
we  got  our  pockets  loaded  with  the  fruit.  As  soon  as  we  got  to  the  edge 
of  the  river  we  had  a  race  to  get  the  first  fish.  John  made  the  first  cast 
while  I  was  putting  my  beloved  spoon  on.  Wes  got  his  line  all  balled  up 
and  it  took  him  ten  minutes  to  get  it  straight  again.  I  got  the  first  fish  a 
baby  red  perch  about  big  enough  for  a  cat's  meal.  We  got  quite  a  few 
perch,  when  Wes  got  out  on  a  rock  to  make  a  better  cast.  He  took  the 
bait  with  him  and  got  up  and  said  to  us  111  make  the  best  catch  of  the 
bunch,  and  letting  his  line  go  lost  his  balance,  and  kicked  over  the  can  of 
bait.  We  yelled  at  him  for  drowning  the  poor  little  grasshoppers  and 
worms.  We  then  sat  down  to  have  the  apples  we  got  coming  over. 
Pretty  soon  John  got  a  bite,  and  pulled  up  a  handsome  speckled  trout ;  we 
all  gather  round  to  see  the  prize.    When  Wes  yelled  "  there  goes  your  line, 


THE    SENTENXE  215 

Rus."  I  turned  round  to  see  my  rod  fast  vanishing  into  the  water  at  a 
rapid  pace.  I  made  a  dive  for  it,  it  being  my  pet  rod.  In  my  haste,  I  fell 
over  a  rock  head  first,  just  grabbing  the  tip  end  of  the  handle,  I  came  up 
soaked  to  the  skin.  I  knew  something  was  on  my  line  because  it  pulled 
like  all  mad  things.  I  let  the  creature  have  full  play  when  I  realized  my 
reel  was  getting  empty.  I  then  clicked  the  reel  into  half  play,  and  later 
into  tight,  with  that  the  fish  jumped  high  into  the  air,  and  I  saw  a  hand- 
some bass  on  the  end.  Both  John  and  Wes  began  to  tell  me  he  was  a 
stuffed  rag  to  get  me  angry.  It  took  all  my  skill  to  keep  him  clear  of  the 
bank,  for,  if  a  fish  gets  near  the  bank  and  finds  a  snag,  he  will  wind  the 
line  around  and  snap  the  line  after  a  long  fight  I  finally  landed  the  fellow 
with  some  difficulty.  I  soon  got  my  fish  and  paraphernalia  together  and 
started  for  home.  I  got  there  and  changed  my  clothes.  I  soon  got  into 
the  kitchen  and  weighed  the  bass ;  he  tipped  the  scales  at  four  and  three- 
quarter  pounds,  which  was  soon  going  down  our  stomachs. 


CHAPTER   VII 
WORDS 

The  clearness  and  the  accuracy  with  which  a  thought  is 
understood  depends  in  large  measure  upon  the  words  in  which 
it  is  expressed.  The  choice  of  the  words  in  which  to  express 
thought  depends  in  part  upon  the  subject,  in  part  upon  the 
person  addressed.  For  example,  in  discussing  bridge  build- 
ing, a  person  naturally  uses  the  names  of  the  parts  of 
bridges,  words  which  he  could  not  use  in  discussing  a  case  of 
scarlet  fever  or  in  explaining  the  act  of  plowing.  Again,  a 
person  does  not  use  the  same  words  to  express  the  same 
thought  to  a  little  child  and  to  a  grown  person,  nor  to  an  un- 
educated adult  and  to  an  educated  adult.  » 

General  or  Specific  Words.  —  Indeed,  a  person  does  not 
always  use  the  same  words  to  present  the  same  thing  to  the 
same  person.  For  example,  if  he  wishes  to  give  a  general 
idea  of  a  horse's  speed,  he  may  say,  *'  The  horse  went  fast," 
but  if  he  wishes  to  give  a  clearer  and  more  exact  idea  of 
the  degree  of  the  horse's  speed,  he  must  make  some  such 
statement  as  "The  horse  galloped,''  or  "The  horse  ran'' ; 
i.e.,  he  must  use  a  specific  instead  of  a  general  word.  If,  on 
the  other  hand,  a  person  wishes  to  suggest  the  great  multitude 
of  books  which  are  inspiring  and  ennobling,  he  will  not  at- 
tempt to  name  them  individually,  but  will  include  them  under 
the  term  literaUire ;  i.e.,  he  will  use  2i  general  instead  of  a 
specific  term.  Whether  a  specific  word  or  a  general  word  shall 
be  used  depends  entirely  upon  circumstances. 

3l6 


WORDS 


EXERCISE  I 


217 


By  consulting  a  dictionary  of  recognized  authority,  such  as  The  Stand- 
ard Dictionary^  Webster''s  International  Dictionary^  or  Murray'^s  New 
English  Dictionary : 

I.  Find  specific  words  that  correspond  to  the  following  general 
words  : 


eat 

injure 

prepare 

cold 

go 

storm 

take 

flowers 

luxury 

trees 

crowd 

sport 

fun 

papers 

many 

good 

exercise 

animal 

some 

comfortable 

adventure 

race 

class 

tax 

2.  Illustrate  by  means  of  sentences  the  correct  use  of  each  general  term 
and  of  each  of  the  corresponding  specific  terms. 

3.  For  each  of  the  following  specific  words  find  a  general  word  which 
includes  it  : 

creak  doctor  noun 

giggle  steer  glance 

lobster  bumped  village 

coat  cent  sister 

hammer  lieutenant  quinine 

4.  a.  Illustrate  by  means  of  a  sentence  the  correct  use  of  each  specific 
word. 

b.    Replace  each  specific  word  by  the  general  word  which  includes 
it,  and  explain  the  difference  in  effect. 

Synonyms.  —  Very  often  the  thing  that  gives  accuracy  to 
the  expression  of  a  thought  is  the  use  of  exactly  the  right 
one  of  a  group  of  synonyms  ;  i.c.y  of  words  that  are  similar  in 
meaning  but  that  are  more  or  less  unlike  in  use.  For  example, 
among  the  following  synonyms  of  gi'eat,  "large,"  "big," 
"vast,"  "huge,"  "bulky,"  "ample,"  "immense,"  "enormous," 
"  Herculean,"  the  word  that  best  gives  a  sense  of  extent  that 
cannot  be  comprehended  at  once  is  the  word  vast,  as  a  vast 
expanse  of  water ;  the  word  that  best  gives  a  sense  of  im- 
measurable  size  or  dimension   is   the   word  immense^  as  an 


2i8  PRACTICAL    i:XGLISH    COMPOSITION 

immense  depth;  the  word  that  best  gives  a  sense  of  the 
need  of  tremendous  strength  is  the  word  HerculeaUy  as 
a  Herculean  task.  Of  a  group  of  synonyms,  that  word 
which  suggests  the  idea  to  be  expressed  most  clearly  and 
most  accurately  should  be  used. 

EXERCISE   II 

I.    Explain  the  difference  in  meaning  in  the  following  synonyms: 

a.  Ready,  prompt,  quick,  expeditious,  skillful. 

b-  Lock,  fasten,  confine. 

L-  Loose,  untie,  unbind,  set  free. 

d.  Lively,  active,  nimble,  brisk,  vivacious,  keen,  energetic. 

e.  Behind,  at  the  back  of,  after,  in  the  rear  of. 
/.  Tardy,  late,  dilatory,  behindhand. 

g.   Before,  preceding,  ahead  of,  in  front  of,  face  to  face  with,  in 

the  sight  of. 
//.    Bear,  uphold,  support,  sustain,  carry,  endure,  produce. 
/.    Gathering,  assembly,  company,  meeting,  concourse,  congrega- 
tion. 
j.   Generosity,  liberality,  bounty,  charity,  munificence. 
k.   Pretty,  pleasing,  comely,  fair. 
/.   Beside,  near,  close  to,  at  the  side  of. 
m.   Besides,  except,  save,  in  addition  to. 

ft.   Rare,  sparse,  uncommon,  extraordinary,  choice,  underdone. 
o.   Fine,  minute,  small,  slender,  delicate,  keen,  exquisite,  excellent, 
clear. 
2.    a.   Find  two  synonyms  for  each  of  the  following  words  : 

change  -      firm  oblige  mad 

censure  fastidious  particular  fix 

sure  beautiful  courteous  borrow 

challenge  splendid  show  swell 

hustle  sorry  gay  put  down 

slow  real  make  shine 

aggravate  lend  provoke  kind 

h.   Use  each  of  the  above  words  in  a  sentence. 
c.    Substitute  for  each  given  word  each  of  its  synonyms  in  turn, 
and  state  the  resulting  difference  in  effect. 


WORDS 


219 


3.  Make  a  list  of  words  which  you  hear  used  constantly  when  syno- 
nyms would  better  express  the  ideas,  and  tell  what  synonyms  should  be 
used. 

Antonyms.  —  A  great  help  in  choosing  the  words  which  will 
give  accuracy  and  vigor  to  expression  is  a  knowledge  of 
antonyms,  i.e.^  of  words  which  are  directly  opposite  in  meaning, 
such  as  hot,  cold;  blacky  white ;  fail^  succeed;  gain^  loss. 
Such  words  are  particularly  valuable  in  expressing  contrasts. 


I. 


EXERCISE   III 

Find  three 

antonyms  for  each  of  the  following  words  : 

free 

care 

betray 

immediately 

generous 

calm 

innocent 

hide 

brave 

awkward 

dull 

polite 

disease 

awful 

inquisitive 

honest 

center 

fiction 

doubt 

severe 

cause 

attack 

confess 

satisfy 

Use  each  of  the 

given  words 

and  one  of  its 

antonyms  in  a  balanced 

sentence. 

Homonyms.  —  In  written  EngHsh,  accuracy  of  form  de- 
mands a  knowledge  of  homonyms ;  i.e.,  words  which  sound 
alike,  but  which  differ  in  spelling  and  in  meaning ;  such  as 
rap,  wrap ;   bread,  bred ;  son,  sun;  pale,  pail;   red,  read. 

Write  correctly  in  a  sentence  each  of  the  following  homo- 
nyms : 

EXERCISE  IV 


not 

practice 

know 

would 

knot 

practise 

no 

wood 

hollo 

threw 

to 

wring 

hollow 

through 

too 
two 

ring 

bear 

hair 

write 

here 

bare 

hare 

right 

hear 

220 


PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 


mail 
male 

straight 
strait 

by 
buy 

sale 
sail 

poll 
pole 

herd 
heard 

there 
their 

plait 
plate 

principal 
principle 

capital 
capitol 

bad 
bade 

draft 
draught 

Words  Similar  in  Sound  but  Different  in  Spelling  and  in 
Meaning.  —  In  both  written  and  spoken  English,  clearness 
and  accuracy  in  expression  demand  a  discrimination  between 
words  which  are  similar  in  sound,  though  different  in  spelling 
and  in  meaning  ;  such  as  accept^  except ^  respectfully ^  respec- 
tively y  loosCy  lose. 

EXERCISE   V 

State  the  meaning  of  the  words  in  each  of  the  following  groups  and  use 
each  word  in  each  pair  correctly  in  a  sentence : 


affect 

costume 

laid 

effect 

custom 

lay 

anecdote 

credible 

luxurious 

antidote 

creditable 

luxuriant 

barbaric 

disinterested 

manly 

barbarous 

uninterested 

mannish 

cemetery 

enormity 

practical 

seminary 

enormousness 

practicable 

clothes 

fly 

propose 

cloths 

flee 

purpose 

cockney 

formally 

quiet 

hackney 

formerly 

quite 

consciousness 

genius 

raise 

conscientiousness 

genus 

rise 

continual 

healthful 

receipt 

continuous 

healthy 

recipe 

council 

hoarse 

relations 

counsel 

horse 

relatives 

WORDS  221 

respectfully  specie  than 

respectively  species  then 

sit  stimulant  womanly 

set  stimulus  womanish 

The  Wise  Use  of  Connectives.  — A  great  help  in  indicating 
the  true  relation  of  one  thought  to  another  is  the  use  of  the 
right  connective  word  or  phrase.  Words  which  serve  as 
connectives  are  conjunctions,  conjunctive  adverbs,  rela- 
tive pronouns,  personal  pronouns  when  their  antecedents 
have  been  expressed,  demonstratives,  many  adverbs,  ad- 
verbial phrases,  and  prepositions,  and  often  nouns  through 
repetition. 

Whenever  a  connective  is  required,  the  particular  word  or 
phrase  which  will  express  the  exact  shade  of  relation  in 
thought  is  the  word  to  be  used.  For  example,  if  the  relation 
in  thought  is  additive,  one  of  several  connectives,  such  as 
andy  moreover^  also,  likewise,  besides,  agai7i,  fiirtJiermore,  in 
addition,  finally,  may  be  used.  If  the  relation  in  thought  is 
one  of  contrast  or  opposition,  such  a  connective  as  but,  never- 
theless, however,  yet,  on  the  co7itrary,  on  the  other  hand,  still, 
or  in  spite  of  may  be  used.  If  the  relation  in  thought  is  one 
of  cause  and  result,  such  a  connective  as  therefore,  heiice, 
consequently^  accordingly,  as  a  result,  then,  or  it  follows  that 
may  be  used.  If  the  relation  in  thought  is  one  of  time,  such 
a  connective  as  while,  when,  as  soon  as,  after,  before,  some- 
what later  than,  months  afterward,  etc.,  may  be  used.  While 
at  times  any  one  of  several  connectives  may  serve  to  indicate 
the  kind  of  relation  of  thought  well  enough,  usually  exactness 
requires  the  use  of  one  particular  connective. 

Good  Use.  —  If  the  expression  of  thought  is  to  be  clear  and 
accurate,  words  must  be  in  good  use ;  i.e.,  they  must  be 
words  used  and  understood  by  educated  people  throughout 
the  country  when  dealing  with  the  subject  in  question. 


222  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH    COMPOSITION 

Violations  of  Good  Use.  —  To  speak  or  write  in  good  lan- 
guage, a  person  must  avoid  the  three  violations  of  good  use : 
barbarisms,  improprieties,  and  solecisms. 

Barbarisms. —  A  barbarism  is  a  word  not  at  present  accepted 
as  a  true  part  of  the  English  language,  such  as  foreign  terms 
not  incorporated  into  the  language,  obsolete  words  (words 
once,  but  no  longer,  a  part  of  the  language),  incorrect  abbre- 
viations, and  newly  coined  words.  When  there  is  question  as 
to  whether  a  word  is  or  is  not  a  barbarism,  a  dictionary  of 
recognized  standing  should  be  consulted. 

Improprieties.  —  An  impropriety  is  the  use  of  an  EngUsh 
word  in  a  sense  not  English.  Common  improprieties  include 
most  slang  expressions  and  the  substitution  for  the  correct 
word  of  a  word  much  like  it  either  in  sound  or  in  sense. 

EXERCISE   VI 

1.  Explain  and  correct  the  improprieties  in  the  following  sentences : 

(I.  His  avocation  was  loading  baggage  trucks. 

fi.  There  were  quantities  of  people  in  the  streets. 

c.  My  father  learned  me  to  skate  when  I  was  little. 

(/.  Last  night    I  had  to  commit  to  memory  five  eight-lined  verses 

of  poetry. 

e.  My  mother  was  kind  of  sorry  about  my  not  getting  home  in  time. 

/;  His  argument  persuaded  me  that  I  had  better  change  my  course. 

,i,^  I  shall  bring  my  tennis  racket  to  the  picnic. 

//.  Father  reckons  we  can  get  there  in  three  days  more. 

2.  a.  Bring  to  class  a  list  of  the  slang  expressions  that  you  have  heard 
recently  at  school  or  among  your  acquaintances. 

d.    Change  the  slang  expressions  into  correct,  forceful  English. 

Solecisms.  —  A  solecism  is  a  construction  that  is  either 
ungrammatical  or  unidiomatic. 

Examples  of  solecisms  are:  I  seen,  Be  you  going  to-morroiv^ 
On  the  table  I  put  it. 


WORDS  223 

EXERCISE   VII 

Point  out  and  correct  the  solecisms  in  the  following  sentences: 

1.  There  isn't  but  one  orange  in  the  dish. 

2.  She's  a  real  good  woman. 

3.  I  didn't  hardly  get  there  before  it  began  to  rain. 

4.  Who  did  you  say  ? 

5.  I've  got  my  wrong  hat. 

6.  One  of  my  books  have  been  taken. 

7.  The  clothes  are  froze  stiff. 

8.  Him  and  me  was  great  friends. 

9.  Was  you  to  the  beach  last  night? 

10.  The  barn  stood  in  back  of  the  house. 

1 1 .  The  baby  hadn't  ought  to  do  that,  for  he  will  get  hurt. 

12.  He  said  he  would  do  it  hisself. 

13.  Them's  them  lettuces  you  wanted. 

14.  I  like  a  hunk  of  corn-beef;  I  like  to  feel  it  a-nourishing  and 
a-nourishing  in  my  stomach. 

15.  I  ketched  cold  riding  on  the  open  car. 

16.  He  allowed  as  how  the  pedler  did  not  know  whose  house  he  was 
going  into. 

17.  I  could  of  told  him  better  than  that. 

18.  May  I  borrow  a  book  off  you  for  this  period  ? 

19.  They  are  only  five  chickens  left  in  that  brood. 

20.  You  hurry  off,  I  says,  says  I,  or  you'll  be  in  trouble. 

Trite,  or  Hackneyed,  Expressions.  —  Among  words  and 
expressions  which  are  technically  in  good  use  there  are  some 
which  have  been  used  for  so  many  different  purposes  as  to 
have  lost  definiteness  and  force ;  i.e.,  they  are  trite,  or  hack- 
neyed, expressions.  Examples  of  such  expressions  are  sweet, 
dear,  lovely,  nice,  great,  Oh,  Pin  tired  to  death.  All  such 
expressions  should  be  avoided. 

EXERCISE  Vm 

1.  Bring  to  class  a  list  of  ten  words  or  expressions  that  are  trite,  or 
hackneyed. 

2.  Give  in  vigorous  English  the  equivalent  of  each  of  these  expressions. 


224  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

The  Need  of  an  Ample  Vocabulary.  —  In  order  that  a  person 
may  have  a  wide  range  of  words  to  choose  from  and  may 
gain  the  power  to  use  words  accurately  and  effectively,  he 
should  take  pains  consciously  to  increase  his  vocabulary. 
He  may  do  this  by  observing  in  what  he  hears  or  reads  the 
words  that  are  new  to  him  and  by  then  using  them  in  con- 
versation or  in  written  composition  if  they  prove  to  be  in 
good  use.  He  may  gain  mastery  of  his  vocabulary  and  of 
English  constructions  by  taking  care  in  his  translations  from 
foreign  languages  to  express  the  ideas  in  clear,  forcible, 
idiomatic  English.  From  whatever  source  a  person  gets  his 
vocabulary,  it  is  only  by  careful  and  persistent  practice  in 
using  it  that  he  can  make  his  own  English  accurate,  sugges- 
tive, and  vivid. 


( 


CHAPTER   VIII 

LETTER  WRITING 

Letters  have  several  important  uses.     They  serve  as  a 
means  of  communication  between  people  who  wish 
(i)   to  transact  business, 

(2)  to  interchange  social  courtesies,  or 

(3)  to  send  friendly  messages. 

In  order  to  be  sure  of  accomplishing  any  one  of  these 
purposes,  the  writer  must  use  forms  of  letter  writing  that 
have  become  established  by  custom.  The  form  to  be  used  in 
any  given  letter  depends  upon  the  purpose  for  which  the 
letter  is  written  and  upon  the  relation  of  the  writer  of  the 
letter  to  the  person  or  the  persons  to  whom  the  letter  is  to 
be  sent. 

The  essential  parts  of  a  letter  are  as  follows : 

1.  The  heading.  5.  The  complimentary,   or  formal, 

2.  The  address.  close. 

3.  The  salutation.  6.  The  signature. 

4.  The  communication,  or  the  body  7.  The  superscription. 

of  the  letter. 

The  customary  form  of  writing  each  one  of  these  parts  will 
be  given  in  the  respective  sections  on  letter  writing. 

Business  Letters 

I.  The  purpose  of  the  headwg  is  to  inform  the  reader  of 
the  date  and  the  place  of  writing.  Unless  the  heading  is 
attended  to  at  first,  it  is  likely  to  be  omitted,  and  the  person 
who  receives  the  letter  may  not  know  where  to  send  his  reply. 

225 


226  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH    COMPOSITION 

The  heading  should  give  the  writer's  address  and  the  date  m 
full.  The  heading  may  be  written  on  one,  two,  or  three  lines. 
It  should  not  extend  much  to  the  left  of  the  center  of  the  page. 

198  West  Central  Ave., 
Lake  City,  Fla., 

March  23,  191 2. 

Box  17,  Sladerville,  W.  Va., 
Jan.  29,  1 9 14. 

The  Birches, 

TopsFiELD,  Mi:., 
July  19,  1919. 

San  Lazaro  Hospital, 
Manila,  P.I., 

Sept.  8,  191S. 

R.  F.  D.  No.    I,  Castine,  Me., 
Nov.  28,  1908. 

82  East  tth  St., 
Newark,  N.J., 
Oct.  4,  191 7. 

Intervale,  N.H.,  Oct.  4,  1916, 

The  address  consists  of  the  name  of  the  person  to  whom 
the  letter  is  written  and  of  the  place  to  which  the  letter  is 
to  be  sent.  If  possible,  it  should  occupy  only  three  lines. 
It  should  begin  at  the  margin,  and  not  be  indented  like  a 
paragraph. 

As  a  matter  of  courtesy,  some  title  should  always  be  used 
before  the  name  of  a  person  or  of  a  group  of  people  ;  as, 
Mr.,  Mrs.,  Miss,  Messrs.,  Dr.,  Hon.,  Prof.,  Rev. 

Esq.,  the  abbreviation  of  Esquire,  which  was  once  a  more 
dignified  title  than  Mr.,  is  now  sometimes  used  in  the  com- 
mercial world  in  place  of  the  latter;  as,  Mr.  Emmett  K.  VVil- 
mond,  or  Emmett  K.  Wilmond,  Esq. 


LETTER   WRITING  227 

Messrs.,  the  abbreviation  of  the  French  word  Messieurs, 
gentlemeriy  is  used  in  addressing  a  business  firm.  A  corpora- 
tion is  addressed  in  its  own  name ;  as,  The  Pepperell  Card 
and  Paper  Co. 

Dr.  is  the  abbreviation  that  is  used  in  addressing  a  person 
who  has  gained  a  college  degree  in  medicine,  divinity,  or 
philosophy. 

Prof,  is  the  abbreviation  used  in  addressing  one  who  holds 
the  position  of  professor  in  a  college  or  university. 

Rev.  is  the  abbreviation  used  in  addressing  a  clergyman. 

Hon.,  the  abbreviation  of  Honorable,  is  used  in  addressing 
men  who  fill  or  have  filled  important  government  offices, 
men  like  members  of  Congress  and  of  the  President's  cabinet, 
ambassadors,  governors,  and  judges;  as, 

Hon.  Henry  Cabot  Lodge,  Hon.  Eben  S.  Draper. 

Hon.  Whitelaw  Reid,  Hon.  Woodrow  Wilson. 

Whenever  any  other  title  is  used,  Mr.  should  not  be  used ; 
as.  The  Reverend  Anson  Bright. 

Forms  of  Address 


Mr.  Henry  L.  Crowell. 
14  Liberty  St., 

Salem,  Mass. 


John  Silver,  Esq., 
107  E.  io6th  St., 
New  York  City. 


228  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 


Messrs.  Esmond  &  Newcomb, 
29  Exchange  Place, 
Chicago,  111. 


The  Metropolitan  Ice  Co., 
Westerly,  R.l. 


The  Reverend  Charles  E.  Jefferson, 
49  W.  53d  St., 

New  York  City. 


The  President  of  the  United  States, 
Washington,  D.C. 


Hon.  Frank  B.  Fay, 

408  Beacon  St., 
Boston,  Mass. 

The  sahitatio7i  consists  of  the  formal  address.  It  should 
be  followed  by  a  colon  or  by  a  colon  and  a  dash.  The  latter 
form  of  punctuation  implies  greater  formality.  The  first  and 
the  last  words  of  the  salutation  should  be  begun  with  capital 
letters.     The  forms  of  salutation  in  general  use  are : 

My  dear  Sir  :  Dear  Sir :  Gentlemen  : 

My  dear  Madam  :  Dear  Madam  :  Ladies  : 

Note.  —  When  the  title  Hon.  is  used,  the  salutation  should  be  Sir: 


LETTER  WRITING  229 


Gentlgmen : 


Dear  Sir: 


Dear  Madam : 


The  dody  of  a  business  letter  should  be  courteous,  brief, 
but  complete  and  clear.  If  it  is  a  very  short  communication, 
the  neatest  appearance  is  secured  by  leaving  a  liberal  margin 
on  both  the  right  and  the  left  sides  of  the  page  and  by  hav- 
ing the  upper  and  lower  margins  nearly  equal.  If  the 
letter  is  long,  the  right  and  the  left  margins  should  be  about 
one  half  an  inch  wide  and  no  margin  should  be  left  at  the 
bottom.     The  writing  should  cover  only  one  side  of  the  page. 

A  paragraph  should  be  indented  at  least  one  half  an  inch 
to  the  right  of  the  margin.     As  each  paragraph  is  concerned 


27,0 


PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 


with  only  one  point  regarding  the  subject,  paragraph  inden- 
tion is  a  distinct  aid  in  presenting  the  subject  to  the  reader. 

The  complimentary  close  or  formal  ending   of  a  business 
letter  is  one  of  the  following : 

Yours  truly,  Yours  very  truly,  Truly  yours, 

Very  truly  yours,  Yours  respectfully,  Yours  very  respectfully, 

Respectfully  yours,        Very  respectfully  yours. 

Note.  —  The  complimentary  close  of  a  letter  written  to  a  government 
official  should  be, 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain 

Yours  very  respectfully, 


The  writer  should  consider  his  relations  with  the  person 
addressed  and  select  the  phrase  that  best  expresses  his  feel- 
ing toward  that  person.  An  inappropriate  ending  detracts 
from  the  businesslike  tone  of  a  letter,  and  should,  therefore, 
be  avoided. 

The  signature  of  a  letter  consists  of  the  name  of  the  writer 
in  full ;  that  is,  his  first  name,  his  middle  initial,  and  his  last 
name.  It  should  be  placed  so  that  it  will  end  near  the  right- 
hand  margin.  A  lady  should  prefix  to  her  signature  Miss  or 
Mrs.  in  parenthesis. 

II  Madison  Ave., 

Chicago,  III., 

Nov.  i8,  1916. 
Messrs.  Walsh  &  Clapp. 

211   W.  Adams  St., 

Newark,  N.J. 

Gentlemen  : . . 


LETTER   WRITING 


231 


Very  truly  yours, 

Malcolm  Campbell. 


The  superscription  is  the  address  on  the  envelope.  This 
should  be  spaced  carefully,  each  line  beginning  a  little  farther 
to  the  right  than  the  preceding  one.  If  the  address  is  very 
long,  one  line  may  be  written  in  the  lower  left-hand  corner. 
The  address  of  the  writer  should  be  placed  in  the  upper  left- 
hand  corner.  A  comma  should  be  placed  at  the  end  of  each 
line  except  the  last,  which  should  be  followed  by  a  period. 
The  names  of  states,  territories,  and  possessions  of  the  United 
States  should  be  abbreviated  according  to  the  following  form  : 

Abbreviations  for  the  names  of  the  states,  territories,  and  possessions 
of  the  United  States,  authorized  by  the  United  States  Official  Postal 
Guide : 


Alabama Ala. 

Arizona Ariz. 

Arkansas Ark. 

California Cal. 

Colorado Colo. 

Connecticut Conn. 

Delaware Del. 

District  of  Columbia  .     .     .      D.C. 

Florida Fla. 

Georgia Ga. 

Illinois 111. 

Indiana Ind. 

Kansas Kans. 

Kentucky Ky. 

Louisiana La. 


Maine Me. 

Maryland Md. 

Massachusetts Mass. 

Michigan Mich. 

Minnesota Minn. 

Mississippi Miss. 

Missouri Mo. 

Montana Mont. 

Nebraska Nebr. 

Nevada Nev. 

New  Hampshire     ....  N.H. 

New  Jersey N.J. 

New  Mexico      .     .     .     .     N.  Mex. 

New  York N.Y. 

North  Carolina      .     .     .     .  N.C. 


232  PR 

North  Dakota  . 
Oklahoma     . 

Pennsylvania  . 

Porto  Rico   .  . 

Rhode  Island  . 
South  Carolina 

South  Dakota  . 

Tennessee    .  . 


ACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 


N.  Dak. 
Okl. 
.   Pa. 


P.R. 
R.I. 
S.C. 
S.  Dak. 
Tenn. 


Texas Tex. 

Vermont Ver. 

Virginia Va. 

Washington Wash. 

West  Virginia  ....      W.  Va. 

Wisconsin Wis. 

Wyoming Wyo. 


The  following  are  not  to  be  abbreviated : 
Alaska,  Guam,  Hawaii,  Idaho,  Iowa,  Ohio,  Oregon,  Samoa,  Utah. 

Note.  —  Great  care  should  be  taken  to  make  the  superscription  clear. 
The  United  States  government  report  of  last  year  shows  that  an  average 
of  more  than  thirty-five  thousand  pieces  of  mail  per  day  was  sent  to  the 
Dead  Letter  Office.  This  was  in  large  part  due  to  the  carelessness  or  the 
ignorance  of  the  persons  who  mailed  parcels  or  letters  that  were  not  properly 
addressed. 


Superscriptions 


i8  Lawrence  Ave., 
RoxBURY,  Mass. 

Mr. 

Herbert  R.  Love, 

loi   LANCiLEY  Ave., 
Chic 

:ago,  III. 

li:ttI':r  writing 


233 


81  Fourth  St., 
South  Boro,  Ind. 


Box  49. 


Mr.  Hiram  Peele, 

Pine  Ridge, 

Adams  Co., 


Miss. 


Prof.  Alton  K.  Bond, 


Colorado  University, 


Bates  Hall. 


Den\'er,  Colo. 


234  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 


67  Fairview  Park, 
Englewood,  III. 


His  Excellency  Alexander  Smith, 

Boston, 

Mass. 


Letters  Ordering  Goods 

Carelessness  in  omitting  to  give  full  and  exact  specifica- 
tions when  ordering  goods  by  letter  often  results  in  delay 
and  confusion.  Orders  are  likely  to  be  filled  promptly  and 
accurately  if  the  following  rules  are  observed  : 

1.  Make  an  itemized  list  of  the  goods  ordered,  beginning 
the  name  of  each  article  with  a  capital  letter. 

2.  State  the  quantity  and  style  of  goods  desired,  using 
numerals  to  indicate  the  desired  amount. 

3.  Give  clearly  the  exact  address  to  which  the  goods  are 
to  be  sent. 

4.  Give  shipping  directions ;  as,  by  mail,  express,  or 
freight,  when  the  firm  from  whom  the  goods  are  ordered 
does  not  deliver  them. 

5.  State  the  manner  in  which  payment  is  to  be  made,  and 
the  amount  of  money  to  be  sent. 


LETTER   WRITING 


235 


Lee,  Va., 

17  Vernon  St., 

March  2,  1914. 


Messrs.  Teele  &  Lane, 
29  State  St., 

Richmond,  Va. 


Gentlemen 
articles : 


Please  send  C.  O.  D.  by  American  Express  the  following 


100  lb. 
3  bu. 
6  cakes 
3  lb. 
2  boxes 
2  3-lb.  cans 
6  cans 


Granulated  Sugar. 
Potatoes. 
Sapolio. 
Java  Coffee. 
Baker's  Cocoa. 
Champion  Biscuit. 
B.  L.  Tomatoes. 
Tarragon  Vinegar. 


4  bottles 

If  possible,  ship  these  goods  the  day  this  letter  reaches  you. 

Yours  truly 

Lee  C.  Atcherson. 


The  Birches,  Topsfield,  Me., 
June  28,  1 91 5. 


:ssRS.  S.  S.  Pierce  &  Co., 

Tremont  St., 

Boston,  Mass. 

Gentlemen :  Please  send  to  the  above  address  the  following  goods 

3  bbl. 

King  Arthur  Elour. 

I  bbl. 

Granulated  Sugar. 

2  lo-lb.  pes. 

Arlington  Bacon. 

2  boxes 

Ivory  Soap. 

I  sack 

Java  Coffee. 

2  cases 

Can  Columbia  Peas. 

2  cases 

Can  Corn  XX. 

Ship  the  above  articles  by  freight,  and  charge  the  same  to  my  account. 

Yours  truly, 

Jonathan  Lane. 


236  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

29  Pine  St., 
Steelton,  Pa., 
Sept.  I,  1917. 

Messrs.  McFail  &  Co., 
no  West  Broadway, 
Harrisburg,  Pa. 

Gentlemen :  Kindly  send  me  by  return  mail  four  (4)  yards  of  lace  like 
inclosed  sample,  at  fifty  cents  (50  /)  a  yard. 

I  inclose  money  order  for  two  dollars  and  ten  cents  ($2.10),  allowing- 
ten  cents  (10  ^)  for  postage. 

Yours  truly, 

(Mrs.)  Warren  Leeds. 


Box  35,  BucKSPORT,  Me., 
Jan.  14,  1914. 

The  Outlook  Co., 
287  Fourth  Ave., 
New  York  City. 

Gentlemen:  Inclosed  find  check  for  three  dollars  ($3.00)  for  one  year's 
subscription  for  the  Outlook. 

Please   send   it  to  the  above   address,   beginning  with   the   February 
number. 

Yours  truly, 

(Miss)  Edith  Metcalf. 


21  Park  St., 

Dorchester,  Mass., 
Jan.  26,  1916. 
Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co., 
Boston,  Mass. 

Gentlemen :  Please  send  to  the  above  address  the  following  books  : 
Over  the  Teacups^  by  O.  W.  Holmes  ($  1.50)  ;  Strangers  and  Wayfarers^ 
by  S.  O.  Jewett  ($  1.25). 

I  inclose  a  money  order  for  two  dollars  and  seventy-five  cents  ($2.75). 

Yours  very  truly. 

John  H.  Brown. 


LETTER   WRITING 


Letter  of  Application 


237 


A  letter  of  application  for  a  position  should  contain  :  (i)  a 

short  introduction  stating  whether  the  writer  is  answering  an 

advertisement  or  is  applying  on  his  own  responsibility;  (2)  a 

statement  of  his  age,  education,  and  experience;  and  (3)  a 

conclusion  giving  reference,  testimonials,  or  an  expression  of 

the  applicant's  earnestness  of  purpose. 

23  Alden  St., 
Chicago,  III., 
June  28,  1914. 
Messrs.  Stanley,  Winslow  &  Co., 
18  Canal  St., 
Chicago,  111. 

Ge?itle?nen  :  I  wish  to  apply  for  the  position  of  assistant  bookkeeper  in 
your  office,  advertised  in  to-day's  Tribune. 

I  am  eighteen  years  old,  and  have  just  graduated  from  the  Codman 
High  School.  Last  summer  I  kept  books  in  my  father's  hardware  store, 
and  I  have  been  helping  him  during  the  last  two  months. 

That  is  all  my  experience,  outside  of  the  two  years'  course  in  bookkeep- 
ing at  the  high  school ;  but  I  am  anxious  to  show  what  I  can  do,  and  you 
will  find  me  faithful  and  not  afraid  to  work. 

Respectfully  yours, 

Frank  Bond. 

WANTED. — A  bright,  energetic  high  school  boy  about 
seventeen  years  old,  for  office  work  during  July  and  August. 
Wages  $4.50.  References  required.  Address  Box  298  B, 
Transcript. 

25  Elm  St.,  Arlington,  Mass., 
June  25,  1915. 
Box  298  B,  Transcript  r' 

Dear  Sirs :  I  wish  to  apply  for  the  position  which  you  advertised  in 
the  Transcript  of  June  25. 

I  am  a  graduate  of  the  Madison  Grammar  School,  Arlington,  and  have 
just  completed  the  third  year  in  the  Arlington  Latin  School.  Next  month 
I  shall  be  seventeen  years  old. 


238  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

During  the  summer  vacation  of  last  year  I  did  office  work  for  the  firm 
of  Clinton,  Ware  &  Co.,  18  Hamilton  St.,  Boston. 

I  give  you  as  references  : 

Mr.  John  Hardman,  of  the  firm  of  Clinton,  Ware  &  Co. ; 

Mr.  Roger  Cable,  Principal  of  the  Arlington  Latin  School ; 

Rev.  Mather  P.  Williams,  Pastor  of  the  Second  Congregational  Church, 
Arlington. 

Trusting  that  you  may  favor  my  application,  I  am 

Yours  truly, 

Gilbert  Drake. 

EXERCISE   I 

Answer  the  following  advertisements,  applying  for  the  positions  : 

1.  BOY.  —  Bright,  ambitious,  in  manufacturing  concern  ;  office 
hours  7  to  6  ;  must  be  good  penman  and  accurate  at  figures  ; 
state  age,  salary  expected,  and  experience,  if  any.  Address 
B  132,  Tribune. 

2.  BOY.  —  16  to  18  yrs.,  for  office  and  stock  work;  city  refs. 
M.  Burton  &  Co.,  173-175  Adams  St. 

3.  BOY.  —  Bright,  16  or  17  yrs.  old,  to  work  in  shipping  de- 
partment of  engraving  plant;  no  heavy  work;  good  oppor- 
tunity for  advancement.  Address,  with  full  particulars, 
C  262,  Tribune. 

4.  BOY.  — 16  to  18  yrs.,  for  office  and  stock  work;  city  refs. 
73-75  Adams  St. 

5.  BOY.  —  Bright  boy,  over  16,  good  education  and  good 
writer,  for  wholesale  clothing  house.  Answer  in  own  hand- 
writing, stating  age  and  references.  Address  W  T  486, 
Tribune. 

6.  BOY.  —  For  office  work  in  Coal  Company ;  must  be  neat, 
well  recommended,  and  with  intention  to  advance.  Address 
A  107,  Tribune. 

7.  BOY.  —  Bright,  16  to  18  yrs.  old.  In  a  wholesale  jewelry 
establishment ;  must  furnish  best  of  references.  Address 
B  592,  Tribune. 

8.  BOY.  —  Bright,  for  errands  in  insurance  office;  state  age, 
salary,  and  references.     Address  K  297,  Tribune. 


LETTER   WRITING  239 

9.  BOY.  —  Good  boy  for  care  of  horses  in  town  and  light 
work  on  a  suburban  place.  Call  F.  S.  Munro,  701  Tacoma 
Bldg. 

10.  BOY.  —  Bright  boy  for  R.R.  office,  over  16  years;  $25 
month  ;   reference  desired.     Address  S  VV  494,  Tribune. 

11.  BOY.  —  About  17  yrs.  old,  to  work  in  wholesale  stock- 
room ;  permanent  position ;  salary  to  start  $  5  per  week. 
The  Western  News  Company,  204  E.  Madison  St. 

12.  ERRAND  BOY.  — Good,  strong,  bright  boy,  16  to  18 
yrs.;  deliver  packages  and  run  errands;  $5  per  week  to 
start.     Chicago  Rubber  Co.,  159  Franklin  St. 

13.  BOY.  —  Bright,  16  to  18  years  old;  must  be  good  writer; 
$6  per  week.     Address  S  T  120,  Tribune. 

14.  BOY.  —  Over  16,  in  office;  fine  chance  for  bright,  enter- 
prising, honest  boy.  Apply  Sefton  Manufg.  Co.,  1 153  35th  St. 

15.  BOY.  —  High  school,  to  start  in  stockroom  of  publishing 
house ;  excellent  opportunity  for  advancement.  Address 
D  154,  Tribune. 

* 

EXERCISE   II 

1.  A  boys'  or  a  girls'  club  wishes  to  hire  a  piano  for  the  eight  months 
from  October  to  June.  You,  as  secretary  of  the  club,  are  to  answer  the 
following  advertisement : 

TO  RENT.  —  200  fine  new  upright  pianos,  $3  and  $4  per 
month  ;  new  styles,  fancy  light  wood  casings ;  one  year's 
rent  allowed  if  purchased.     Barker,  207  Olive  St. 

2.  Answer  this  advertisement,  making  arrangements  to  see  the  article 
at  a  certain  time  : 

TOBOGGAN  SLED. —  Not  quite  completed,  will  finish 
to  suit;  was  ordered,  never  called  for;  $20.  Address  K 
324,  Tribune. 

3.  You  are  to  attend  a  preparatory  school,  and  are  attracted  by  the 
announcement  of  the  Irving  School,  Tarrytown-on-Hudson,  N.Y.  Write 
a  letter  to  the  secretary  asking  for  information  concerning  the  school. 
State  definitely  the  questions  which  you  wish  him  to  answer. 

4.  Order  by  letter  of  Sinnott  &  Folsom,  14  Causeway  St.,  Indianapolis, 


240  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

Ind.,  C.  O.  D.,  a  supply  of  groceries,  including  flour,  sugar,  tea,  cheese, 
butter,  soap,  kerosene,  raisins,  and  a  broom. 

5.  Write  a  letter  to  John  Wanamaker  &  Co.,  Broadway,  N.Y.,  order- 
ing I  pair  Victor  skates,  size  11,  i  hockey  stick,  i  copy  Stevenson's  Treas- 
ure Islandy  Home  Reading  Edition,  i  doz.  cakes  Ivory  Soap,  and  i 
Brownie  Camera,  size  i.  Direct  the  firm  to  charge  the  goods  to  your 
account,  and  ship  to  the  following  address:  Mr.  Edward  Bardwell,  16 
Maple  St.,  Yarmouthville,  Me. 

6.  You  have  a  tent  in  very  good  condition,  which  you  would  like  to 
sell.     Answer  this  advertisement : 

WANTED.  —  Good  second-hand  tent;  state  size  and 
price.     Address  C  311,  Tribune. 

7.  You  have  an  Iver  Johnson  bicycle  two  years  old,  but  in  perfect 
repair.  Its  cost  was  sixty-five  dollars.  You  cannot  take  it  in  yourself, 
but  are  willing  to  send  it  by  express,  and  offer  it  for  sale  at  a  minimum 
price  of  ten  dollars.  Write  a  letter  asking  the  firm  to  consider  your  propo- 
sition. 

WANTED.  —  50  good  second-hand  wheels  at  once  for 
country  orders  ;  bring  wheels  and  get  our  cash  offer.  Mead 
Cycle  Co.,  23-25  N.  Clinton  St. 

8.  Write  a  letter  ofTering  your  motor  cycle,  1912  model,  for  sale;  state 
how  long  used,  and  the  price  paid  for  it  when  new. 

WANTED.  —  Motor  Cycle,  1912  model;  give  complete  de- 
scription, lowest  cash  price.     Address  A  F  368,  Tribune. 

9.  Write  a  letter  subscribing  for  one  year  for  a  magazine  which  you 
really  desire  to  take. 

ID.  Write  to  Messrs.  D.  C.  Heath  &  Co.,  120  Roylston  St.,  Boston,  an 
order  for  two  books,  which  you  intend  to  use  next  term  in  school. 

11.  Your  class  is  planning  a  sleighing  party.  Write  to  the  Fairbank 
Livery  Stable,  High  Falls,  Minn.,  stating  the  number  going,  and  inquiring 
the  terms. 

12.  Send  an  order  to  Wilcox  &  Fearing  Co.,  169  State  St.,  Minne- 
apolis, Minn.,  for  a  folding  pocket  kodak.  No.  i,  M.  14.  Catalogue  No.  80, 
page  390.     Inclose  ten  dollars,  the  price  stated. 

13.  Write  a  second  letter  to  Wilcox  &  Fearing  Co.,  stating  that  two 
weeks  have  passed  since  you  sent  the  above  order,  and  that  you  wish  to 
hear  from  them  in  regard  to  the  matter. 


LETTER  WRITING  241 

14.  Order  from  Sterling,  Merchant  &  Co.,  141  Federal  St.,  Pittsburg, 
Pa.,  I  doz.  Arrow  collars,  at  $1.50  per  doz.  ;  i  pair  No.  7^  dogskin 
gloves,  at  $1.25  a  pair;  I  doz.  men's  plain  linen  handkerchiefs,  J  inch  hem, 
at  50  cents  each.     Inclose  money  order  in  payment. 

15.  a.  Write  a  letter  to  a  firm  from  whom  you  have  received  a  dam- 
aged article,  asking  them  to  make  it  good. 

d.   Write  the  firm's  answer  to  you. 

c.  Write  the  firm's  letter  to  the  manufacturer  who  made  the  article. 

d.  Write  the  manufacturer's  reply  to  the  firm. 

16.  a.  Write  a  letter  to  a  firm  from  whom  you  have  ordered  goods, 
stating  that  you  have  not  received  a  certain  article. 

d.   Write  the  firm's  reply  to  your  letter. 

The  Telegram 

The  two  essentials  of  a  telegram  are  brevity  and  exactness. 
Ten  words  are  allowed  at  a  price  proportioned  to  the  distance, 
and  every  additional  word  means  additional  expense.  Initial 
letters  and  abbreviations  of  weights  and  measures  are  each 
counted  as  a  word. 


POSTAL 

TELEGRAPH 

COMMERCIAL 

CABLES 

TELEGRAM 

Bangor, 

Me. 

,  Feb 

2,  1909. 

TO  Mrs 

.  Lawrence  Hubbard, 

26 

Forest  St.,  Cambridge, 

Mass. 

Steamer 

delayed  in  port  by  fog. 

Do  not  wait. 

Mary 

L. 

Hubbard. 

242  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

EXERCISE  III 

1.  Telegraph  to  a  friend,  asking  him  to  secure  two  tickets  for  the 
Harvard- Yale  football  game. 

2.  You  are  unable  to  go  with  your  friend  on  a  certain  train.  Telegraph 
where  and  when  you  will  meet  her. 

3.  You  are  away  from  home  and  need  a  certain  book.  Telegraph  to 
your  mother,  asking  her  to  send  it  by  the  next  mail. 

4.  You  are  away  with  your  brother.  He  has  met  with  a  slight  accident 
and  you  are  going  to  take  him  home.  Telegraph  to  your  mother,  telling 
her  oi  the  accident  and  giving  the  time  of  your  expected  arrival.  Assure 
her  that  there  is  no  danger.  Telegraph  to  your  father  news  of  the  accident 
and  ask  him  to  meet  you. 

5.  Your  brother  has  won  distinction  at  Harvard.  You  are  in  the  South. 
Telegraph  your  congratulations. 

6.  During  your  mother's  absence,  your  sister  is  taken  ill.  Telegraph 
your  mother  to  return  quickly,  but  do  not  alarm  her. 

7.  You  are  unable  to  meet  a  friend  who  is  about  to  visit  you  for  the 
first  time.  Telegraph  to  a  friend,  asking  her  to  do  so  in  your  stead. 
Mention  time  and  place  of  meeting. 

8.  A  very  dear  friend  expects  you  to  go  on  a  camping  trip  with  him. 
At  the  last  moment,  you  secure  a  promising  position.  Telegraph  to  him, 
telling  of  your  change  of  plans. 

Social  Correspondence 

A  formal  invitation  should  be  written  in  the  third  person, 
and  should  contain  no  heading,  no  salutation,  and  no  compli- 
mentary close.  The  writer's  name  should  appear  in  the 
body  of  the  letter.  The  address  of  the  writer  and  the  date  of 
writing  should  be  written  at  the  left,  below  the  communica- 
tion. 

The  only  abbreviations  permitted  are  those  of  titles ;  but 
the  title  "  Reverend  "  should  be  written  in  full  and  be  pre- 
ceded by  "  the  "  :  The  Reverend  Minot  Barry. 

Figures  should  be  used  only  for  house  numbers.  Days  of 
the  month  and  week  and  names  of  the  months  should  be 
written  in  full.     The  year  may  be  omitted. 


LETTER   WRITING  243 

A  reply  should  contain  the  same  forms  of  expression  that 
have  been  used  in  the  invitation. 

It  should  be  written  in  the  third  person,  and  always  repeat 
the  date  and  the  time  mentioned  in  the  invitation.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  adjust  the  lines  according  to  the  form  of  the 
invitation.  A  reply  should  be  sent  not  later  than  the  second 
day  after  receiving  an  invitation. 

The  only  marks  of  punctuation  to  be  used  in  the  super- 
scription are  those  which  occur  after  unavoidable  abbrevia- 
tions. 

Formal  Invitation 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Eliot  Towne 

request  the  pleasure  of 

Miss  Caroline  Cheney's  company  at  dinner 

on  Thursday,  January  twelfth, 

at  seven  o'clock. 

118  Drexel  Boulevard, 
January  fifth. 

Formal  Acceptance 

Miss  Caroline  Cheney  accepts  with  pleasure  the  kind 
invitation  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Eliot  Towne  to  dinner  on 
Thursday,  January  twelfth,  at  seven  o'clock. 

149  West  Lafayette  Street, 
January  seventh. 

Formal  Declination 

Miss  Caroline  Cheney  regrets  that  a  previous  engage- 
ment prevents  her  accepting  the  kind  invitation  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Eliot  Towne  to  dinner  on  Thursday,  January 
twelfth,  at  seven  o'clock. 

149  West  Lafayette  Street, 
January  seventh. 


244  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

Formal  Invitation  to  a  Reception 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Alfred  T.  Bent 

request  the  pleasure  of  Mr.  Charles  F.  Brown's  company 

at  a  reception  to  be  given  at  their  home, 

1326  Norris  Street,  Newton, 

Tuesday  evening,  March  ninth,  at  eight  o'clock. 

March  second. 

Formal  Acceptance 

Mr.  Charles  F.  Brown  accepts  with  pleasure  the  kind 
invitation  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Alfred  T.  Bent  to  the  recep- 
tion to  be  given  at  their  home,  1326  Norris  Street,  Tues- 
day evening,  March  ninth,  at  eight  o'clock. 

15  Samoset  Avenue,  Melrose, 
March  fourth. 

Formal  Declination 

Mr.  Charles  F.  Brown  regrets  that  a  previous  engage- 
ment prevents  his  accepting  the  kind  invitation  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Alfred  T.  Bent  to  the  reception  to  be  given  at 
their  home,  1326  Norris  Street,  Newton,  Tuesday  eve- 
ning, March  ninth,  at  eight  o'clock. 

15  Samoset  Avenue,  Melrose, 
March  fourth. 

Formal  Invitation 

Miss  Helen  E.  Dane 

requests  the  pleasure  of 

Miss  Emily  C.  Pierce's  company  at  a  party 

to  be  given  at  her  home, 

14  Linden  Street,  Cambridge, 

on  Friday,  October  fourth, 

from  eight  to  eleven  o'clock. 

September  twenty-fifth. 


LETTER  WRITING  245 

Formal  Declination 

Miss  Emily  C.  Pierce  regrets  that  illness  in  her  family 
prevents  her  accepting  the  kind  invitation  of  Miss  Helen 
E.  Dane  to  the  party  to  be  given  at  her  home,  14  Linden 
Street,  Cambridge,  on  Friday,  October  fourth,  from  eight 
to  eleven  o'clock. 

39  Maiden  Avenue,  Somerville, 
September  twenty-seventh. 

Informal  Notes 

In  an  informal  note,  the  address  of  the  writer  and  the  date 
of  the  writing  may  be  placed,  as  in  a  business  letter,  at  the 
right  above  the  communication,  or  they  may  be  written  at  the 
left,  below  the  body  of  the  note.  The  latter  form  is  favored 
at  present. 

The  salutations  generally  used  are : 

My  dear  Mrs.  Anderson:  Dear  Mrs.  Fielding: 

My  dear  Miss  Norton  :  Dear  Charles  : 

Note.  —  The  longer  form  is  the  more  ceremonious.  The  punctuation 
should  be  a  colon,  a  comma  and  a  dash,  or,  in  very  friendly  notes,  a 
comma. 

The  formal  close  should  harmonize  with  the  salutation. 
The  customary  forms  are : 


Sincerely  yours, 
Yours  sincerely, 
Yours  very  sincerely 


1 . 


Used  in  addressing  persons  older  than  the 
writer,  or  persons  with  whom  the  writer 
is  on  friendly  but  not  intimate  terms. 


Cordially  yours,  Your  loving  daughter. 

Yours  cordially,  Faithfully  yours. 

Yours  with  love,  Yours  faithfully, 

Lovingly, 

Only  the  first  word  of  the  complimentary  close  should  be 
begun  with  a  capital  letter. 


246  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

Form  of  an  Informal  Note 


SALUTATION 


FORMAL   CLOSE 


SIGNATURE 
ADDRESS  OF  WRITER 


DATE  OF  WRITING 


Informal  Notes  of  Invitation 

1.  My  dear  Mrs.  Norcross: 

Will  you  give  us  the  pleasure  of  your  company  at 
dinner  on  the  evening  of  Wednesday,  the  twentieth,  at 
seven  o'clock  ?  We  expect  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Farrar,  whom, 
I  believe,  you  have  met. 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

Anna  L.  Gaynor. 
24  Evans  Avenue, 

November  sixth. 

2.  My  dear  Miss  Plummer, — 

I  ara  asking  a  few  friends  to  luncheon  on  Saturday  and 
wish  much  to  have  you  among  the  number.  Luncheon 
will  be  served  at  two  o'clock. 

Your  friend, 

Martha  L.  Jackson. 
17  Cliff  Street,  Brighton, 
May  fifth. 


LETTER  WRITING 

Informal  Acceptance 

My  dear  Miss  Jackson, 

I  shall  be  pleased  to  be  with  you  at  luncheon  Satur- 
day and  to  meet  your  friends.  Thanking  you  for  your 
kind  invitation,  I  am. 

Your  friend, 

Elizabeth  F.  Plummer. 
21  Corona  Street, 
Dorchester, 

May  seventh. 

Informal  Declination 

My  dear  Miss  Jackson, 

I  am  sorry  indeed  that  a  previous  engagement  will 
prevent  me  from  being  with  you  and  your  friends  next 
Saturday. 

Your  friend, 

Elizabeth  F.  Plummer. 
21  Corona  Street, 
Dorchester, 

May  seventh. 

Informal  Invitations 

(i)      My  dear  Florence,  — 

The  time  of  your  annual  visit  to  Boston  is  near  at 
hand  and  we  are  looking  forward  with  pleasure  to  the 
time  when  you  will  be  with  us  again. 

I  hope  that  nothing  will  hinder  your  coming,  for  the 
new  purchases  for  the  Art  Museum  will  be  ready  for 
visitors  by  the  first  of  May,  and  I  know  how  anxious  you 
are  to  see  them. 

With  kind  regards  to  your  mother,  I  am 
Sincerely  your  friend, 

Edith  B.  McLeod. 
Roxbury, 

April  3,  1918. 


247 


248  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

(2)  208  West  104TH  Street, 

New  York  City. 

Jan.  22,  1914. 
My  dear  Mattie, — 

The  "Clover  Club"  is  to  have  an  "experience  social" 
next  Friday  evening,  at  eight  o'clock,  at  the  home  of  the 
president,  Mrs.  James  Alden,  109  West  126th  Street. 

I  hope  that  you  will  be  able  to  come,  as  we  shall  cer- 
tainly have  a  merry  time.     Mother  and  I  will  call  for  you. 

Yours  with  love, 

Florence  Hammett. 

(3)  Dear  Cousin  Ruth, 

Mother  and  I  intend  to  have  a  house-warming  in  our 
little  "doll-house"  next  Tuesday  evening.  We  have  in- 
vited as  many  of  our  kith  and  kin  as  we  can  possibly 
squeeze  in  and  expect  to  have  a  jolly  good  time.  Do 
come  if  you  can  ;  "the  more,  the  merrier." 

Lovingly, 

Mildred. 
27  College  Avenue, 
Medford, 

Feb.  5,  1914. 

18  NoRWELL  Street, 
Jan.  14,  1915. 
Dear  Jack. 

I  wish  that  you  and  Tom  would  come  over  to  the  house 
Thursday  evening.  It  is  my  birthday  and  mother  has 
planned  a  good  time  for  a  few  of  us.  Don't  forget  to 
bring  your  music. 

Your  friend, 


Walter. 


EXERCISE  IV 


I.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  James  Annixter  Bowman  of  15 15  Riverside  Drive, 
New  York,  decide  to  give  a  formal  dinner  three  weeks  from  to-day. 
(a)  Write  their  invitation  to  Miss  Mary  Peterson  of  210  West  iiSth 
Street ;  (d)  write  her  acceptance;  (c)  write  the  declination  of  Mr.  Howard 
Mannering. 


LETTER  WRITING  249 

2.  (a)  Write  an  invitation  to  a  formal  reception  to  be  given  by  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Malcolm  Sterling  of  21 18  Clay  Street,  San  Francisco. 

(d)  Accept  the  invitation. 
(c)  Decline  the  invitation. 

3.  Your  club  is  to  entertain  friends  by  giving  a  play.  Write  the  invita- 
tion which  they  should  send  out. 

4.  Write  an  invitation  to  an  acquaintance  party  which  your  class  is  to 
give  to  the  entering  class. 

5.  a.  Write  an  informal  invitation  to  a  friend  to  attend  a  candy-pull  at 
your  house. 

d.    Write  his  informal  note  accepting  your  invitation. 

c.  Write  the  note  of  a  friend  who  must  decline  your  invitation. 

6.  a.    Write  a  note  asking  a  friend  to  go  on  a  camping  trip  with  you. 

d.  Write  his  reply. 

7.  a.  Write  a  note  asking  a  friend  to  help  you  entertain  an  unexpected 
guest. 

d.   Write  the  reply. 

Notes  of  Acknowledgment 

36  Onslow  Square, 

Dec.  27,  18 — . 
Dear  Carter, — 

I  should  be  an  ungrateful  wretch  if  I  didn't  tell  you  that  the  geese  were 

excellent.     The  servants  polished  theirs  entirely  off,  and  ours  was  admired 

and  appreciated  by  everybody  who  partook  thereof.     I  carved  it  and  I 

need  not  say  some  of  the  best  slices  of  the  bosom  were  appropriated  by 

yours  gratefully, 

W.  M.  Thackeray. 

PONKAPOG,  MasSi 
Dec.  13,  1875. 
Dear  Howells, — 

We  had  so  charming  a  visit  at  your  house  that  I  have  about  made  up 
my  mind  to  reside  with  you  permanently.  I  am  tired  of  writing.  I  would 
like  to  settle  down  in  just  such  a  comfortable  home  as  yours,  with  a  man 
who  can  work  regularly  four  or  five  hours  a  day,  thereby  relieving  one  of 
all  painful  apprehensions  in  respect  to  clothes  and  pocket-money-  I  am 
easy  to  get  along  with.  1  have  few  unreasonable  wants  and  never  com- 
plain when  they  are  constantly  supplied.     I  think  I  could  depend  on  you. 

Ever  yours, 

T.  B.  A. 


250  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

Vailima,  Samoa, 
July  8,  1894. 
My  dear  St.  Gi\UDENS, — 

This  is  to  tell  you  that  the  medallion  has  been  at  last  triumphantly 
transported  up  the  hill  and  placed  over  my  smoking-room  mantelpiece. 
It  is  considered  by  everybody  a  first-rate  but  flattering  portrait.  We  have 
it  in  a  very  good  light,  which  brings  out  the  artistic  merits  of  the  godlike 
sculptor  to  great  advantage.  As  for  my  opinion,  I  believe  it  to  be  a  speak- 
ing likeness,  and  not  flattered  at  all,  possibly  a  little  the  rev.erse.  The 
verses  (curse  the  rhyme)  look  remarkably  well. 

Please  do  not  longer  delay,  but  send  me  an  account  for  the  expense  of 
the  gilt  letters.  I  was  sorry  indeed  that  they  proved  beyond  the  means 
of  a  small  farmer. 

Yours  very  sincerely, 

<  Robert  Louis  Stevenson. 

EXERCISE  V 

1 .  Write  notes  acknowledging  three  Christmas  gifts,  one  from  a  rela- 
tive much  older  than  you  are,  one  from  your  most  intimate  friend,  and 
one  from  an  acquaintance. 

2.  Write  a  note  thanking  your  hostess  for  a  pleasant  week-end  at  her 
house. 

3.  Write  notes  acknowledging  a  book,  flowers,  and  some  dainty  sent 
while  you  were  ill. 

4.  Write  a  note  thanking  an  acquaintance  for  sending  you  information 
for  which  you  had  asked. 

5.  Write  a  note  thanking  a  friend  for  a  social  courtesy  shown  to  a 
friend  of  yours  for  your  sake. 

Notes  of  Condolence 

Abraham  Lincoln  to  Mrs.  Bixby. 

ExEcirrivE  Mansion, 
Washington,  Nov.  21,  1864. 
To  Mrs.  Bixby,  Boston,  Mass. 
Dear  Madam : 
I  have  been  shown  in  the  files  of  the  War  Department  a  statement  of 
the  Adjutant  General  of  Massachusetts  that  you  are  the  mother  of  five 
sons,  who  have  died  gloriously  on  the  field  of  battle. 


LETTER   WRITING  251 

I  feel  how  weak  and  fruitless  must  be  any  word  of  mine  which  should 
attempt  to  beguile  you  from  the  grief  of  a  loss  so  overwhelming.  But  I 
cannot  refrain  from  tendering  you  the  consolation  that  may  be  found  in 
the  thanks  of  the  republic  they  died  to  save.  I  pray  that  our  Heavenly 
Father  may  assuage  the  anguish  of  your  bereavement,  and  leave  you  only 
the  cherished  memory  of  the  loved  and  lost,  and  the  solemn  pride  that 
must  be  yours  to  have  laid  so  costly  a  sacrifice  upon  the  altar  of  freedom. 

Yours  very  sincerely  and  respectfully, 

A.  Lincoln. 

An  Acknowledgment  of  a  Letter  of  Condolence 

31  Lowndes  Square,  S.W., 
April  17,  1885. 

Dear  Howells, — 

I  return  your  grasp  of  the  hand  with  another  as  sincere,  but  in  silence. 
What  is  there  to  be  said? 

If  all  go  well,  I  shall  see  you  again  in  June  — one  of  the  greatest  favors 
I  have  to  thank  President  Cleveland  for. 
With  kindest  regards  to  Mrs.  Howells, 

Affectionately  yours, 

J.  R.  Lowell. 

Letters  of  Introduction 

A  letter  of  introduction  is  a  letter  written  by  one  person 
to  another  for  the  purpose  of  presenting  to  him  a  third 
person.  It  should  be  left  unsealed,  as  it  is  usually  deUvered 
by  the  person  introduced. 

A  letter  of  introduction  should  be  given  only  when  the 
person  writing  the  letter  is  sufficiently  well  acquainted  with 
the  person  to  whom  he  is  writing  and  with  the  person  whom 
he  is  introducing  to  be  sure  that  the  two  would  probably  like 
to  know  each  other. 

While  such  letters  are  general  in  their  character,  they 
should  always  contain  elements  which  will  give  the  persons 
introduced  some  interest  in  common. 


252  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

Business  Letter  of  Introduction 

1405  Wabash  Ave., 
Chicago,  III., 
Jan.  15,  1914. 
Mr.  Malcolm  Hardwick, 
40  Wall  St., 

New  York,  N.Y. 
Dear  Mr.  Hardwick  : 

This  will  introduce  to  you  Mr.  Francis  Bolton,  a  promising  young  busi- 
ness man  of  this  city.  He  visits  New  York  to  interest  some  capitalists  in 
a  new  patent  which  he  wishes  to  put  upon  the  market.  I  know  him  to  be 
a  man  whose  integrity  and  unusual  ability  make  him  worthy  of  confidence 
and  consideration,  and  I  hope  that  you  and  some  of  your  friends  w^ill  give 
him  an  opportunity  to  explain  his  plans,  and,  if  they  prove  practical,  will 
help  him  to  carry  them  out. 

Very  truly  yours, 

Mark  North. 

Acknowledgment  of  Business    Letter  of  Introduction 

40  Wall  St., 
New  York,  N.Y., 
Jan.  20,  1914. 
Mr.  Mark  North, 
1405  Wabash  Ave., 
Chicago,  111. 
Dear  Mr.  North  : 

I  received  your  letter  of  Jan.  15  by  Mr.  Francis  Bolton,  and  thank  you 
for  giving  me  the  opportunity  to  invest  in  what  promises  to  be  so 
lucrative  an  enterprise. 

Yours  very  truly, 

Malcolm  Hardwick. 

Social  Letter  of  Introduction 

Boston,  Mass., 

April  ID,  1912. 
My  Dear  Mr.  Merriam  : 

I  take  pleasure  in  introducing  to  you  Mr.  Franklin  Turner,  a  close 
friend  of  mine,  who  will  spend  some  months  in  California  collecting  botani- 


LETTER  WRITING  253 

cal  specimens,  and  who  will  make  San  Francisco  his  headquarters.     Any 
courtesy  that  you  may  show  him  I  shall  consider  a  personal  obligation. 

Sincerely  yours, 

Charles  M.  Summers. 

Mr.  James  Merriam, 

1506  Clay  Street, 

San  Francisco, 

California. 

Acknowledgment  of  Social  Letter  of  Introduction 

San  Francisco,  Cal., 
April  10,  191 2. 
Dear  Mr.  Summers: 

Your  friend  Mr.  Turner,  who  called  last  evening,  gave  us  a  most 
amusing  account  of  the  hunting  trip  in  which  you  so  frequently  rescued 
him  from  dire  mishap.  He  thereby  rescued  us  from  a  dull  evening.  We 
look  forward  to  having  him  among  us. 

Sincerely  yours, 

James  Merriam. 
Mr.  Charles  M.  Summers, 
160  Beacon  Street, 
Boston,  Mass. 

Informal  Letters  of  Introduction 

Cambridge,  Monday,  Aug.  5,  i860. 
My  dear  young  Friend,  — 

Here  is  a  note  to  Mr.  Hawthorne,  which  you  can  use  if  you  have 
occasion. 

Don't  print  too  much  and  too  soon  ;  don't  get  married  in  a  hurry  ;  read 
what  will  make  you  think  not  dream]  hold  yourself  dear,  and  more  power 
to  your  elbow!     God  bless  you! 

Cordially  yours, 

J.  R.  Lowell. 

Cambridge,  Aug.  5,  i860. 
My  dear  Hawthorne, — 

I  have  no  masonic  claim  upon  you  except  community  of  tobacco,  and 
the  young  man  who  brings  this  does  not  smoke. 


2  54  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

But  he  wants  to  look  at  you,  which  will  do  you  no  harm,  and  him  a 
great  deal  of  good. 

His  name  is  Howells,  and  he  is  a  fine  young  fellow,  and  has  written 
several  poems  in  the  Atlantic^  which  of  course  you  have  never  read,  be- 
cause you  don't  do  such  things  yourself,  and  are  old  enough  to  know 
better. 

When  I  think  how  much  you  might  have  profited  by  the  perusal  of 
certain  verses  of  somebody  who  shall  be  nameless  —  but,  no  matter!  If 
my  judgment  is  good  for  anything,  this  youth  has  more  in  him  than  any 
of  our  younger  fellows  in  the  way  of  rhyme. 

Of  course  he  can't  hope  to  rival  the  Co)isule  Planco  men.  Therefore 
let  him  look  at  you  and  charge  it 

To  yours  always, 

J.  R.  Lowell. 

Harvard  Coli.f.gk, 
Sept.  9,  1863. 
Mv  DEAR  Hughes, — 

Will  you  do  anything  that  lies  in  your  way  for  my  young  friend  Mr. 
Lincoln,  and  very  much  oblige  me  thereby?  He  wishes  particularly  to 
see  you,  and  would  like  a  few  hints  about  employing  his  very  short  time 
in  London  well.     He  has  been  one  of  our  tutors  here. 

To  almost  any  other  Englishman  I  should  think  it  needful  to  explain 
that  he  is  not  President  Lincoln,  you  are  all  so  "  shady  "  in  our  matters. 
The  Times^  I  see,  has  now  sent  over  an  ''  Italian  "  to  report  upon  us  —  a 
clever  man,  but  a  double  foreigner,  as  an  Italian  with  an  English  wash  over 
him.  Pray,  don't  believe  a  word  he  says  about  our  longing  to  go  to  war 
with  England.  We  are  all  as  cross  as  terriers  with  your  kind  of  neutrality, 
but  the  last  thing  we  want  is  another  war.  If  the  iron-clads  are  allowed 
to  come  out,  there  might  be  a  change. 

If  you  can  give  Mr.  Hughes  any  hints  or  helps  for  seeing  Oxford,  you 

would  be  doing  him  a  great  kindness,  and  adding  another  to  the  many  you 

have  done  me. 

Cordially  yours, 

J.  R.   Lowell. 


LETTER   WRITING  255 

Letters  of  Friendship 

The  writing  of  letters  of  friendship  is  distinctly  a  literary 
art.  The  first  essential  is  the  selection  of  subjects  of  mutual 
interest  to  the  writer  and  to  his  friend,  and  the  second  is  the 
expression  of  the  thought  in  a  clear  and  agreeable  manner. 

Some  of  the  best  models  for  modern  letter  writing  are 
James  Russell  Lowell,  Thomas  Bailey  Aldrich,  and  Robert 
Louis  Stevenson.  Stevenson's  letters  give  a  vivid  picture  of 
his  daily  life,  his  friends  and  associates,  and  his  surroundings  ; 
and  show  what  a  brave  struggle  he  made  for  health  and 
strength. 

The  date  and  place  of  writing  may  be  put,  as  in  a  friendly 
note,  either  at  the  right,  above  the  body  of  the  letter,  or  it 
may  be  put  at  the  end,  at  the  left,  below  the  communication. 
The  formal  close  should  express  the  feehng  of  the  writer 
toward  the  receiver. 

Forms  of  Friendly  Letters 

(l)  ADDRESS  OF  WRITER 

DATE  OF  WRITING 
SALUTATION 


FORMAL  CLOSE 


SIGNATURE 


256  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

(2) 


SALUTATION 


FORMAL  CLOSE 


SIGNATURE 


ADDRESS 

OF  WRITER 

' 

DATE  OF  WRITING 

Dear  Friend  : 

I,  too,  have  a  new  plaything,  the  best  I  ever  had  —  a  wood  lot.  Last 
fall  I  bought  a  piece  of  more  than  forty  acres  on  the  borders  of  a  little  lake, 
half  a  mile  wide  and  more,  called  Walden  Pond  —  a  place  to  which  my  feet 
have  for  years  been  accustomed  to  bring  me  once  or  twice  a  week  at  all 
seasons.  My  lot,  to  be  sure,  is  on  the  farther  side  of  the  water,  not  so 
familiar  to  me  as  the  nearer  shore.  Some  of  the  wood  is  an  old  growth, 
but  most  of  it  has  been  cut  off  within  twenty  years  and  is  growing  thrifty. 
In  these  May  days,  when  maples,  poplars,  oaks,  birches,  walnut  and  pine 
are  in  their  glory,  I  go  thither  every  afternoon  and  cut  with  my  hatchet  an 
Indian  path  through  the  thicket  all  along  the  bold  shore,  and  open  the 
finest  pictures.  My  two  little  girls  know  the  road  now,  though  it  is  nearly 
two  miles  from  the  house,  and  find  their  way  to  the  spring  at  the  foot  of 
the  pine  grove. 

At  a  good  distance  in  from  the  shore,  the  land  rises  to  a  rocky  head 
perhaps  sixty  feet  above  water.  Thereon  I  think  to  place  a  tent,  perhaps 
it  will  have  two  stories  and  be  a  pretty  tower,  looking  out  to  Monadnock 
and  other  New  Hampshire  mountains.  There  I  hope  to  go  with  book  and 
pen  when  good  hours  come.  .  .  . 


LETTER   WRITING  257 

What  have  we  to  do  with  old  age?  Our  existence  looks  to  me  more 
than  ever  initial.  We  have  come  to  see  the  ground  and  look  up  materials 
and  tools.  The  men  who  have  any  positive  quality  are  the  flying  advance 
party  for  reconnoitering.  We  shall  yet  have  a  right  to  work,  as  kings  and 
competitors. 

With  ever  affectionate  remembrance  to  your  wife, 

Your  friend, 

Ralph  W.  Emerson. 

68  Beacon  St.,  Boston, 
Feb.  2,  1886. 
Dear  Howells, — 

I  told  you  that  I  liked  the  plan  of  the  new  story  when  you  gave  me  a 
sketch  of  it.^  I  like  the  story  itself  so  thoroughly  that  I  must  please  myself 
by  telling  you  so.  So  far,  'tis  the  best  yet.  It  made  me  forget  eighteen 
hours  in  a  sleeping-car  and  the  loss  of  my  only-wearable-in-Boston  hat. 

But  I  won't  let  you  say  (when  you  reprint)  as  you  do  on  page  5,  ist  col., 
"bring  us  in  closer  relations,"  for  that  isn't  what  you  mean.  You  don't 
mean  ''  bring-in  to  us,"  but  "bring  us  into  "!  That  is  what  you  mean!  I 
am  going  to  get  up  a  society  for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Prepositions 
—  I  am  getting  so  cross.  Animals  have  certain  natural  means  of  defense. 
They  can  bite  and  prepositions  can't.  The  skunk — but  I  forbear  —  you 
know  what  he  can  do  in  the  newspapers.  So  beware,  my  dear  boy!  The 
society  will  be  immitigable.  It  will  spare  neither  age  nor  sex,  and  will  be 
happiest  when  dancing  a  war-dance  on  the  broken  ties  of  friendship. 

On  second  thought,  however  (the  hat  having  meanwhile  come  back),  I 

still  remain  as  always, 

Affectionately  yours, 

J.  R.  L. 

Barring  this  bit  of  fruitless  brutality,  the  story  is  simply  delightful. 

Phillips  Brooks  to  his  mother. 

Moscow,  Aug.  18,  1872. 
Dear  Mother,  — 

Last  Sunday  when  I  wrote  father,  we  were  crossing  the  Gulf  of  Finland 
making  for  St.  Petersburg.  We  passed  the  great  fortifications  at  Cron- 
stadt,  and  landed  at  the  city  Sunday  evening;  the  next  three  days  I  spent 
in  seeing  the  great  capital.     Everything  in  it  is  on  a  most  enormous  scale. 

^  The  Minister's  Charge. 


258  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

Its  palaces,  the  biggest  and  most  gorgeous  ;  its  churches  the  richest ;  its 
squares  the  most  magnificent  in  Europe.  Its  great  church  of  St.  Isaak  is 
a  wonder  of  marble,  gold,  and  jewels.  It  cost  $  35,000,000,  or  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  of  Trinity.  The  picture  gallery  is  one  of  the  greatest  in 
the  world,  with  pictures  that  one  cannot  see  anywhere  else.  The  whole 
country  about  the  city  is  full  of  magnificent  palaces  with  splendid  grounds 
and  fountains  where  one  goes  in  the  afternoon,  and  hears  bands  play  in 
the  evening,  and  takes  a  quiet  sail  on  the  Neva  back  to  St.  Petersburg 
with  the  moon  shining  on  golden  domes.     What  do  you  think  of  that  .'' 

Grand  as  St.  Petersburg  is,  it  is  only  the  vestibule  to  Moscow.  You 
come  here  by  rail  a  long  dreary  ride  of  twenty  hours,  with  poor  sleeping 
cars  for  which  you  pay  fifteen  dollars.  This  Russia  is  the  most  expensive 
country  I  ever  traveled  in.  But  when  you  get  here,  you  are  in  the  midst 
of  picturesqueness  such  as  you  can  see  nowhere  else.  Think  of  three 
hundred  domes  and  spires,  all  different,  all  gold  or  silver,  blue  or  green, 
with  golden  stars,  crosses,  and  crescents,  and  blazing  under  the  intense  sun 
that  beats  down  on  this  plain.  Yesterday  afternoon,  I  drove  to  a  hill 
near  the  city,  the  hill  from  which  Napoleon  first  saw  it,  and  the  view,  as  it 
lay  glittering  in  the  afternoon  sun,  was  like  fairyland.  Then  you  step 
inside  a  church  or  palace,  and  it  is  all  brilliant  with  gold ;  barbarous  in 
taste,  but  very  gorgeous.  The  streets  are  full  of  splendor  and  squalidness, 
all  mixed  together.  First  the  grand  coach  and  splendid  horses  of  a  noble- 
man and  then  the  wretched  procession  of  convicts,  chained  together,  men 
and  women,  starting  off  on  their  long  journey  to  Siberia.  Everything  has 
the  look  of  semi-civilization,  exceedingly  interesting,  though  not  attractive ; 
but  a  country  with  some  vast  future  before  it,  certainly. 

I  hope  you  are  all  well ;  but  I  have  not  heard  yet,  nor  shall  I  for  a 
couple  of  weeks.  I  have  been  very  unfortunate,  but  your  letters  at  the 
last  must  reach  me  at  Copenhagen.  The  last  tidings  I  had  were  dated 
only  a  week  after  I  sailed.  It  has  detracted  much  from  the  pleasure  of  my 
journey,  which  has  otherwise  been  delightful.  The  weather  here  is  ex- 
quisite. I  see  no  Americans  and  few  English.  I  have  been  with  an 
Englishman,  but  leave  him  to-morrow  to  go  to  the  Great  Fair  at  Nijni- 
Novgorod,  where  we  have  only  the  company  of  a  French  interpreter. 
Thence  in  the  last  part  of  the  week,  I  begin  to  turn  my  feet  westward. 
Next  Sunday  I  shall  probably  write  to  you  from  somewhere  outside  of 
Russia.  .  Love  to  all. 

Yours  affectionately, 

Phillips. 


LETTER  WRITING 


259 


31  Lowndes  Square,  S.W., 
Oct.  9,  1884. 
Dear  Mrs.  Clifford, — 

.  .  .  How  delightful  it  is  to  have  woman  friends  —  they  are  such  impar- 
tial critics.  No,  I  am  not  a  genius,  and  very  far  from  thinking  myself  one. 
I  was  half  meant  for  one,  but  only  half.  A  genius  has  the  gift  of  falling  in 
love  with  the  side-face  of  truth,  going  mad  for  it,  sacrificing  all  for  it.  But 
1  must  see  the  full  face,  and  then  the  two  sides  have  such  different  expres- 
sions that  I  begin  to  doubt  which  is  the  sincere  and  cannot  surrender 
myself. 

I  was  very  sorry  that  I  could  not  tea  with  you  yesterday,  but  I  got  home 
too  late  and  fearfully  tired.     I  shall  try  to  find  you  this  afternoon. 

Yes,  your  note  was  a  little  extravagant,  but  I  could  not  help  liking  it,  all 
the  same.  My  address  would  have  been  far  better  if  I  had  been  plain 
J.  R.  L.  and  not  His  Excellency. 

Faithfully  yours, 

J.  R.  Lowell. 

Deerfoot  Farm, 
Feb.  14,  1886. 
My  dear  Valentine, — 

Come  to  68  Beacon  Street  Tuesday  afternoon  or  late  on  Wednesday, 
for  I  don't  wish  to  miss  you. 

I  ought  to  have  said,  but  forgot  it,  that  you  will  find  plenty  of  authority 
for  in  as  you  used  it  in  our  older  writers.  I  remember  it  in  Latimer  (he 
was  burned  alive  for  that  among  other  heresies,  however)  and  elsewhere. 
But  that  sprang  from  a  false  analogy  with  the  Latin,  where  the  same  prepo- 
sition served  both  ends  according  to  the  case  it  governed.  I  believe  some 
grammars  still  give  no  cases,  but  we  have  at  best  only  one  distinctive  case- 
ending  that  I  can  think  of —  the  genitive. 

Affectionatelv  vours, 

J.  R.  Lowell. 

My  dear  Pemberton, — 

Don't  be  alarmed  if  you  should  hear  of  my  having  nearly  blown  the 
top  of  my  head  off.  Last  Monday  I  had  my  face  badly  cut  by  the  recoil 
of  an  overloaded  gun.  I  do  not  know  yet  beneath  these  bandages  whether 
I  shall  be  permanently  marked.  At  present  I  am  invisible,  and  have  tried 
to  keep  the  accident  secret.     When  the  surgeon  was  stitching  me  together, 


26o  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

the  son  of  the  house,  a  boy  of  twelve,  came  timidly  to  the  door  of  my  room. 
«  Tell  Mr.  Bret  Harte  it's  all  right,"  he  said  ;  "  he  killed  the  hare:' 

Yours  always, 

Bret  Harte. 


Saranac  Lake, 
Oct.  1887. 
My  DEAR  Henry  James,  — 

This  is  to  say.  First,  the  voyage  was  a  huge  success.  We  all  enjoyed 
it  (t)ar  my  wife)  to  the  ground  :  sixteen  days  at  sea  with  a  cargo  of  hay, 
matches,  stallions,  and  monkeys,  and  in  a  ship  with  no  style  on,  and  plenty 
of  sailors  to  talk  to,  and  the  endless  pleasure  of  the  sea — the  romance  of 
it,  the  sport  of  the  scratch  dinner  and  the  smashing  crockery,  the  pleasure 
—  an  endless  pleasure  —  of  balancing  to  the  swell :  well,  it's  over. 

Second,  I  had  a  fine  time,  rather  a  troubled  one,  at  Newport  and  New 
York ;  saw  much  of  and  liked  hugely  the  Fairchilds,  St.  Gaudens  the 
sculptor.  Gilder  of  the  Century  —  just  saw  the  dear  Alexander  —  saw  a  lot 
of  my  old  and  admirable  friend  Will  Low,  whom  I  wish  you  knew  and 
appreciated  —  was  medallioned  by  St.  Gaudens  and  at  last  escaped. 

Third,  Saranac  Lake,  where  we  now  are,  and  which  I  believe  we  mean 
to  like  and  pass  the  winter  at.  Our  house  —  emphatically  Baker's  —  is 
on  a  hill,  and  has  a  sight  of  a  stream  turning  a  corner  in  the  valley  —  bless 
the  face  of  running  water  !  —  and  sees  some  hills  too,  and  the  paganly  pro- 
saic roofs  of  Saranac  itself;  the  Lake  it  does  not  see,  nor  do  I  regret  that ; 
I  like  water  (fresh  water  I  mean)  either  running  swiftly  among  stones,  or 
else  largely  qualified  with  whisky.  As  I  write,  the  sun  (which  has  been 
long  a  stranger)  shines  in  at  my  shoulder ;  from  the  next  room,  the  bell  of 
Loyd's  typewriter  makes  an  agreeable  music  as  it  patters  off  (at  a  rate 
which  astonishes  this  experienced  novelist)  the  early  chapters  of  a  humor- 
ous romance  ;  from  still  farther  off — the  walls  of  Baker's  are  neither  ancient 
nor  massive  —  rumors  of  Valentine  about  the  kitchen  stove  come  to  my 
ears ;  of  my  mother  and  Fanny  I  hear  nothing,  for  the  excellent  reason 
that  they  have  gone  off,  one  to  Niagara,  one  to  Indianapolis.  People  com- 
plain that  I  never  give  news  in  my  letters.  I  have  wiped  out  that  reproach. 
But  now,  fourth,  I  have  seen  the  article ;  and,  it  may  be  from  natural  par- 
tiality, I  think  it  the  best  you  have  written.  Oh,  I  remember  the  Gautier, 
which  was  an  excellent  performance  ;  and  the  Balzac,  which  was  good ; 
and  the  Daudet,  over  which  I  licked  my  chops  ;  but  the  R.  L.  S.  is  better 
yet.     It  is  so  humorous  and  it  hits  my  little  frailties  with  so  neat  (and  so 


LETTER   WRITING  261 

friendly)  a  touch  ;  and  Alan  is  the  occasion  for  so  much  happy  talk,  and 
the  quarrel  is  so  generously  praised.  I  read  it  twice,  though  it  was  only 
some  hours  in  my  possession ;  and  Low,  who  got  it  for  me  from  the  Cen- 
tury^ sat  up  to  finish  it  ere  he  returned  it ;  and,  sir,  we  were  all  delighted. 
Here  is  the  paper  out,  nor  will  anything,  not  even  friendship,  not  even 
gratitude  for  the  article,  induce  me  to  begin  a  second  sheet ;  so  here  with 
the  kindest  remembrances  and  the  warmest  good  wishes,  I  remain, 

Yours  affectionately, 
R.L.  S. 

Elmwood,  Cambridge,  Mass., 
April  9,  1890. 
Dear  Mrs.  Clifford, — 

It  was  very  good  of  you  to  be  anxious  about  me,  and  I  wish  I  could  drop 
in  to  ask  you  for  a  cup  of  coffee  and  thank  you  in  person.  That  would  be 
delightful,  but  my  gratitude  must  find  vent  in  ink,  which  sometimes  runs 
cold  in  spite  of  us.  Pen  in  hand,  one  hasn't  always  the  courage  of  one's 
feelings.  Spoken  words  may  be  as  warm  as  one  likes  —  there  is  always 
air  enough  to  temper  them  to  the  right  point.   .   .   . 

I  have  been  really  ill  —  six  weeks  on  my  back  in  bed,  whither  I  refused 
to  go  till  I  could  sit  up  no  longer.  I  couldn't  conceive  anything  but  Death 
strong  enough  to  throw  me.  And  he  did  look  in  at  the  door  once,  they 
tell  me,  when  I  was  worst,  but  changed  his  mind  and  took  his  ugly  mug 
elsewhere. 

I  have  now  been  mending  for  nearly  three  weeks,  and  begin  once  more 
to  have  legs  and  things.  But  I  have  grown  very  weak,  and  am  still  very 
easily  tired.  I  have  been  out  of  doors  thrice,  once  to  bask  for  an  hour  in 
the  sun  on  the  veranda,  twice  to  crawl  about  a  little  —  the  last  time  for 
nearly  a  hundred  yards,  one  of  the  triumphs  of  pedestrianism.  I  am 
bidden  to  recline  as  much  as  possible,  and  am  on  my  back  now  in  a  chaise- 
longue.  The  doctors  say  I  must  on  no  account  venture  across  the  water 
this  summer,  and  I  myself  haven't  the  courage,  for  I  have  had  rather  a 
sharp  warning  that  I  am  over  forty — which  I  never  believed  before. 
When  you  see  me  again  I  shall  be  an  old  man  —  that  was  a  slip,  I  meant 
to  say  "  elderly,''  but  it  is  out  now,  and  I  must  make  the  best  of  it.  I 
shall  be  little  better  than  a  tame  cat.  You  will  stroke  me  in  a  pause  of 
your  talk  with  some  more  suitable  person,  and  I  shall  purr. 

I  couldn't  endure  my  deprivation  and  did  not  think  my  renunciation  this 
year  would  ensure  my  coming  next.     Only  by  that  time,  I  fear,  you  will 


262  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

have  forgotten  me  and  wonder  who  I  am  when  I  caU.  Please  don't  if  you 
can  help  it.  And  yet,  if  you  have  to  make  an  effort,  I  shouldn't  quite  like 
that  either. 

But  I    musn't   write  any  more,  for  my   head  begins  to  grumble,  and 
already  has  the  stitch  in  its  side.     Write  when  you  happen  to  think  of  it. 

Faithfully  yours, 

J.  R.  Lowell. 

Yokohama,  Oct.  29,  1894. 
My  dear  Boys, — 

We  arrived  here  this  morning  at  nine  o'clock  after  twelve  wretched 
days,  —  a  gale  every  day,  —  the  roughest  voyage,  the  captain  says,  that  the 
Empress  of  India  has  made  in  three  years  !  Your  little  mother  and  I 
went  to  the  table  only  once  and  were  on  deck  only  twice.  .  .  .  The  day 
before  we  sighted  land,  your  mother  and  I  suddenly  recovered  and  had  a 
heavenly  twenty-four  hours.  I  can't  tell  you  how  glad  we  were  to  get  on 
shore.  It  was  like  getting  into  Paradise.  Already  that  stormy  ocean 
seems  like  a  dream.  This  is  the  loveliest  place  we  ever  saw.  The  little 
houses  are  so  funny  and  the  little  men  and  women  moving  about  the 
quaint  streets  look  like  figures  from  a  chess  board.  I  never  saw  anything 
so  curious  as  the  streets.  It  is  like  being  on  the  stage  during  a  per- 
formance of  the  "Mikado."  The  little  Jap  girls  are  awfully  pretty  and 
do  nothing  but  smile  on  us  as  they  toddle  by.  We  have  had  a  delicious 
breakfast  and  a  long  ride  about  town  in  'rikishas  —  little  two-wheeled 
wagons  drawn  each  by  a  little  Jap  who  trots  just  like  a  pony  and  seems 
never  to  get  tired.  The  'rikisha  holds  only  one  person,  and  costs  75  c. 
per  day  !  A  single  course  10  c.  It  is  perfectly  charming  to  ride  in 
these  toy  carriages  —  they  are  set  rather  high,  and  I  don't  know  what 
would  happen  if  the  horse  were  to  stumble.  All  the  people  are  very  gentle 
and  polite  and  soft-voiced.  I  think  I  should  like  to  live  in  Japan.  But 
we  haven't  begun  to  see  the  best  of  it  yet.  We  are  told  that  we  shall  fall 
wholly  in  love  with  Tokio,  where  we  are  to  go  in  a  few  days  in  order  to 
attend  the  yearly  garden  party  of  the  Emperor.  I  have  written  to  our 
Ambassador  to  obtain  an  invitation.  We  don't  hear  much  about  the  war. 
The  Emperor  doesn't  allow  correspondents  to  go  with  the  army,  so  little 
or  nothing  is  known  about  the  battles  until  the  government  gives  out  the 
news.  The  harbor  here  is  full  of  sunken  torpedoes  and  our  ship  had  to 
be  guided  throu<i;h  them  by  a  Japanese  gunboat.  We  have  been  wishing 
all  the  morning  that  you  two  were  with  us,  everything  is  so  novel  and 


LETTER   WRITING  263 

fascinating.  But  you  wouldn't  have  liked  that  sea  voyage.  I  wouldn't 
take  it  again  for  $5000.  The  Atlantic  Ocean  is  an  inland  lake  compared 
with  the  Pacific.     The  fellow  who  named  it  the  Pacific  was  a  heartless 

humorist.   .  .  .     Your    mother    and    Miss have  gone  off   in    two 

Vikishas  on  a  shopping  excursion,  and  I  must  end  this  in  order  to  run 
down  to  the  pier  and  see  the  Empress  of  Japan  start  for  Hong-Kong.  We 
made  some  lovely  friends  aboard  —  a  Major  Faithful  in  command  of  an 
English  regiment  stationed  at  Hong-Kong,  and  two  young  English  captains 
sent  over  here  to  study  the  war. 

Your  ever  affectionate 

Father. 


ToKio,  Japan, 
Nov.  7,  1894. 
My  dear  Boys, — 

Since  I  wrote  you  from  Yokohama  we  have  been  traveling  in  the  in- 
terior of  Japan.  We  have  never  been  in  a  country  so  crowded  with 
novelty  —  the  people,  the  streets,  the  manners,  and  the  very  scenery  are 
wholly  unlike  anything  elsewhere.  When  we  leave  Japan  at  the  end  of 
this  month  I  fancy  that  we  shall  have  left  behind  us  the  very  best  part  of 
our  journey.  We  are  spending  a  week  here  and  are  having  a  delightful 
time.  The  night  before  last  I  went  on  a  Japanese  spree  with  a  Mr.  T., 
formerly  of  Boston,  but  now  a  permanent  resident  of  Tokio,  where  he 
dwells  with  Yum-yum  in  grand  style.  He  invited  me  to  a  theater  party  — 
five  or  six  pretty  Japanese  ladies  and  two  masculine  Japs,  none  of  whom 
knew  a  word  of  English.  But  they  were  very  charming  and  polite.  I 
went  to  the  theater  at  six  o'clock  p.m.  and  witnessed  the  butt  end  of  a  play 
that  began  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  !  After  the  performance  we  took 
Vikishas,  each  with  its  gaudy  paper-lantern,  and  started  for  the  tea  house 
some  two  miles  distant.  The  ride  through  the  streets  under  strings  and 
arcades  of  lanterns  was  a  dream.  I  seemed  to  be  wandering  in  fairyland. 
At  the  tea  house  little  Japanese  women  removed  our  shoes  and  gave  us 
slippers,  for  no  one  wears  shoes  within  doors,  where  everybody  sits  on 
the  floor.  We  were  shown  into  a  room  made  of  large  screens  and 
carpeted  with  mats.  The  only  furniture  in  this  room  was  a  nail,  on 
which  I  hung  my  hat  —  neither  table  nor  chair.  The  supper,  which 
consisted  of  twelve  elaborate  courses,  was  served  on  trays  placed  on  the 
floor.  Such  food  —  green  and  purple  fish,  and  meat  black  and  red,  and 
straw-colored    dishes    composed    of   God    knows    what.     Several    of  the 


264  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

things  were  delicious,  but  the  rest  were  like  unpleasant  drugs.  While  the 
banquet  was  progressing  three  girls  played  on  outlandish  musical  instru- 
ments and  three  other  maidens  in  beautiful  costumes  recited  poems  and 
danced.  The  meal  lasted  two  hours  and  a  half,  ending  with  sake^  a  strong 
native  wine,  and  coffee.  Then  Yum-yum  put  on  my  shoes,  bowed  down 
before  me  with  her  forehead  on  the  matting,  and  a  few  minutes  later  I  was 
in  my  'rikisha  on  the  way  through  the  lonely  streets  to  our  hotel.  I  didn't 
have  a  headache,  which  I  richly  deserved,  the  next  morning.  I  shouldn't 
care  to  go  to  many  such  banquets,  but  it  was  well  worth  doing  once.  It 
was  a  genuine  page  out  of  the  Arabian  Nights.  It  is  impossible  to 
describe  the  wonders  we  have  seen  —  the  temples,  the  gardens,  and 
bazaars.  On  Friday,  Nov.  9,  we  return  to  Yokohama,  from  which  there 
are  several  excursions  to  be  made ;  then  we  shall  set  out  for  Kobe,  where 
we  are  to  take  ship  for  Hong-Kong.  The  treaty  ports  of  China  are  said  to 
be  safe  for  Europeans,  but  the  war  fever  increases  as  we  go  East  and  I'm 
afraid  that  we  shall  not  be  allowed  to  visit  Canton,  which  is  a  treaty  port. 
However,  we  intend  to  try  it.  .  .  . 

Your  affectionate 

Father. 

EXERCISE  VI 

1.  Write  to  a  classmate,  describing  a  recent  exciting  game  in  which 
your  side  won. 

2.  You  are  camping  for  the  summer.  Write  to  a  friend,  asking  him 
to  join  you  for  three  or  four  weeks.  Tell  him  what  he  will  need  during 
his  stay.     Give  him  definite  directions  regarding  his  journey. 

3.  Write  to  a  friend,  inviting  her  to  visit  you.  Describe  three  places 
which  you  think  she  will  enjoy  seeing. 

4.  You  have  been  delayed  by  a  railroad  accident  in  a  small  country 
village  overnight.     Write  a  letter  home,  telling  your  experience. 

5.  Write  to  a  friend  who  is  confined  to  the  house  on  account  of  an 
accident.  Tell  him  of  two  books  that  you  are  sending  him,  and  give  him 
an  amusing  account  of  an  accident  that  recently  disabled  you. 

6.  A  member  of  the  club  to  which  you  belong  is  away.  Write  him 
a  letter  giving  an  account  of  an  outing  recently  enjoyed  by  the  club. 

7.  Your  mother  is  away  from  home.  Write  a  letter  to  her,  telling 
your  experience  as  manager  of  the  household. 

8.  a.    Write  to  your  cousin  in  a  distant  city,  introducing  a  friend. 

b.   Write  a  letter  to  the  friend,  inclosing  the  letter  of  introduction. 


LETTER  WRITING  265 

c.   Write   your   cousin's    letter    in    reply,  telling  how  he  likes  your 
friend  and  what  he  has  done  for  your  friend. 

9.  a.  Write  from  camp  to  a  friend,  asking  him  to  get  some  delicacies 
and  send  them  to  your  station. 

b.  Write   the   note  that  your  friend  will  send,  announcing  that  he 
has  started  the  goods  to  you. 

c.  Write  a  note  to  the  station-agent,  asking  him  to  send  the  goods 
on  to  you  by  stage  when  they  arrive. 

Postal  Cards 

Postal  cards  are  not  used  in  social  correspondence  ;  but  they 
are  useful  in  sending  brief  messages  and  greetings  when  one 
is  on  a  journey  and  nothing  else  is  available.  They  are  fre- 
quently used  by  clubs  to  give  notices  of  meetings.  Figures 
and  abbreviations  of  places,  of  names  of  the  months,  and  of 
titles  may  be  used.  Terms  of  endearment  should  be  avoided. 
The  salutation  may  be  omitted. 


Wilmington,  Mass., 

July  2,  191 3. 

We    have    arrived    without   any   mishap,   and   the    place   looks 
attractive. 

I  shall  write  a  letter  to-morrow. 

Yours, 

Helen  F.  Pratt. 


>66  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 


• 

29 

Warren 

St.,  Roxbury, 

Dec.  2,  1915. 

The  Committee  on 

the 

Christmas  en 

tertainme 

nt  will  meet  at  my 

house  next  Thursday 

evening  at  eight  o 

clock.     I 

mportant  business 

will  be  transacted. 

Yours  truly, 

James 

B.  Cox,  Sec'y. 

42  India  St.,  Boston,  Mass., 

April  4,   191 4. 

Dear  Sir: 

Our  salesman, 

Mr. 

Kidder,  will  call  on  you 

April  8th,  with  a  full 

line  of  samples  of 

summer  goods. 

You 

rs  truly. 

1 

■••■•• 

FiSKE, 

Browning  &.  Co. 

LETTER   WRITING  267 


Chelsea,  Dec.  6th,  191 3. 

A  special   meeting  of  the  Women  Workers  will   be  held  next 

Thursday  at  3  o'clock,  to  discuss  the  advisability  of  postponing  the 

Annual  Supper. 

Yours  truly, 

(Mrs.)  Alice  Burdett,  Sec'y. 


Boston,  Oct.  8,  191 5. 
Goods  arrived  in  good  condition. 

Charles  M.  Day. 


CHAPTER    IX 


RULES  FOR  SPELLING 

Rule  I.  —  Monosyllables  ending  in  a  single  consonant 
preceded  by  a  single  vowel  double  the  final  consonant  before 
a  suffix  beginning  with  a  vowel. 


bag 

bag  gage 

bagged 

clap 

clapping 

clapped 

slip 

slip  ping 

slip  per 

trim 

trim  ming 

trimmed 

wrap 

wrap  ping 

wrapped 

Rule  II.  —  Polysyllables  accented  on  the  last  syllable, 
ending  in  a  single  consonant  preceded  by  a  single  vowel, 
double  the  final  consonant  before  a  suffix  beginning  with  a 
vowel. 


ac  quit 

ac  quit  ting 

ac  quit  ted 

com  pel 

com  pel  ling 

com  pelled 

con  trol 

con  trol  ling 

con  trolled 

re  fer 

re  fer  ring 

re  ferred 

sub  mit 

sub  mit  ting 

sub  mit  ted 

Note.  —  Polysyllables  not  accented  on  the  last  syllable,  ending  in  a 
single  consonant  preceded  by  a  single  vowel,  do  not  double  the  final  con- 
sonant before  a  suffix  beginning  with  a  vowel. 


bios  som 

bios  som  ing 

bios  somed 

con  sid  er 

con  sid  er  ing 

con  sid  ered 

con  quer 

con  quer  ing 

con  quered 

de  vel  op 

de  vel  op  ing 

de  vel  oped 

profit 

profit  ing 

profited 

Rule    III.  —  Final    silent   e   is    dropped    before    a    suffix 
beginning  with  a  vowel. 

268 


RULES   FOR    SPELLING  269 

di  vide  di  vi  ding  pur  sue         pur  su  ing 

in  ter  fere         in  ter  fer  ing  sup  pose       sup  pos  ing 

per  se  vere       per  se  ver  ing 

Exception  I.  —  Final  silent  e  preceded  by  ^  or  ^  is  retained   before  a 
suffix  beginning  with  a  ox  o\w  order  to  preserve  the  soft  sound. 

ad  van  tage      ad  van  ta  geous  peace  peace  a  ble 

dam  age  dam  age  a  ble  ser  vice       ser  vice  a  ble 

out  rage  out  ra  geous 

Exceptio7i  II.  —  Words  ending  in  ie  drop  the  e  and  change  the  /  to/ 
before  a  suffix  beginning  with  /. 

die        dy  ing  lie        ly  ing  tie         ty  ing 

•  Exception  III.  —  The  following  words  retain  final  e  before  the  suffix  ing: 

hoe  hoe  ing  '   singe  singe  ing 

shoe  shoe  ing  tinge  tinge  ing 

toe  toe  ing 

Rule    IV.  —  Final  silent  e  is  usually  retained  before  a 
suffix  beginning  with  a  consonant. 

def  i  nite  def  i  nite  ly  def  i  nite  ness 

en  cour  age  en  cour  age  ment 

en  force  en  force  ment 

en  tire  en  tire  ly 

im  me  di  ate  im  me  di  ate  ly 

lone  lone  ly  lone  li  ness 

Exception.  —  The  following  words  drop  final  e  before  a  suffix  beginning 
with  a  consonant : 

ar  gue  ar  gu  ment  due  du  ly 

awe  aw  ful  true  tru  ly 

Rule  V.  —  Use  i  before  e  except  after  c. 

brief  ceil  ing  niece  re  ceive 

chief  con  ceit  re  lieve  de  ceit  ful 

hand  ker  chief  con  ceive  yield  re  ceipt 


270 


PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 


Rule  VI.  —  The  final  letter  of  a  word  or  prefix  is  usually 
retained  before  the  same  letter  in  the  suffix  or  root. 


legal 
il  le  gal 


le  gal  ly 
il  le  gal  ly 


sim  i  lar 
solve 


dis  sim  i  lar 
dis  solve 


Rule  VII.  —  Final  7  preceded  by  a  consonant  is  changed 
into  i  before  a  suffix. 


friend  ly  friend  li  ness 

or  di  na  ry         or  di  na  ri  ly 
mel  o  dv  niel  o  di  ous 


read  y 

ac  com  pa  ny 


read  i  ly 

ac  com  pa  ni  ment 


Exception.  —  Final/  is  retained  before  the  suffix  tng: 


her  ry  ing 
hur  ry  ing 


mag  ni  fy  ing 
mul  ti  ply  ing 


tes  ti  fy  ing 


Rule  VIII.  —  A   prefix  or  a  suffix   ending  in   //  usually 
drops  one  /. 


al  to  geth  er 
al  ways 


fulfil 
truth  ful 


wel  fare 


JVote.  —  Credit  is  due  to  Daly's  Rational  Speller  for  some  of  the  rules 
for  spelling. 


ab  bre  vi  a  tion 

ab  so  lute 

a  cad  e  my 

ac  cent 

ac  cept  a  ble 

ac  ci  den  tal 

ac  com  mo  date 

ac  com  plish 

ac  cu  rate 

a  chieve 

ac  knowl  edg  ment 

ac  quain  tance 

a  cross 


SPELLING    LIST 

ad  dress 

ad  vance  ment 

ad  van  ta  geous 

a  gree  a  ble 

aisle 

al  lit  er  ation 

all  right 

al  read  y 

al  ter  nate 

al  though 

al  to  geth  er 

am  bi  tious 

an  al  y  sis 


an  a  lyze 
an  chor 
an  cient 
an  ec  dote 
an  nounce 
an  nu  al 
an  swer 
an  te  ce  dent 
anx  ious 
a  pos  tro  phe 
ap  pa  ra  tus 
ap  par  ent 
ap  plaud 


RULES   FOR    SPELLING 


271 


ap  pre  ci  ate 

bleach 

civ  i  li  za  tion 

ap  prov  al 

book  keep  ing 

clause 

apron 

bot  a  ny 

clean  li  ness 

ar  chi  tect 

bou  quet 

cocoa 

arc  tic 

bril  liant 

colo  nel 

ar  gu  ment 

brit  tie 

CO  lo  ni  al 

ar  range  ment 

bruise 

com  mer  cial 

ar  ti  cle 

buoy  ant 

com  mit  tee 

as  sign 

bu  reau 

com  par  a  tive 

as  so  ci  ate 

bus  i  ly 

com  pass 

as  sure 

bus  i  ness 

con  ceal 

ath  let  ic 

con  cede 

at  ten  dance 

cal  cu  late 

con  demn 

au  di  ence 

cal  en  dar 

con  fee  tion  er  y 

au  thor  i  ty  ^     _ 

cam  paign 

con  science 

au  tumn 

cam  phor 

con  sci  en  tious 

aux  il  i  a  ry 

can  eel 

con  scious 

av  er  age 

ca  pa  ble 

con  so  nant 

awk  ward 

cap  tain 

con  ve  nient 

care  less 

con  vey 

bach  e  lor 

car  riage 

cool  ly 

bal  ance 

car  ry  ing 

cor  dial 

balky 

cash  ier 

cor  re  spond  ence 

bal  loon 

cat  a  logue 

coun  ter  feit 

ba  na  na 

cat  a  ract 

cou  ra  geous^^ 

bap  tize 

cau  tion 

cour  te  ous 

^ar  gain 

eel lar 

cour  te  sy 

bat  tal  ion 

cham  ois 

cred  it  or 

bay  0  net 

change  a  ble 

cres  cent 

bea  con 

char  ac  ter 

crit  i  cise 

beau  ti  ful 

chif  fo  nier 

crys  tal 

be  gin  ning 

chim  ney 

cus  tom 

be  neath 

chis  el 

cyl in  der 

ben  e  fi  cial 

choose 

ben  e  fit 

chron  i  cle 

daily 

bi  cy  cle 

cir  cuit 

debt  or 

bis  cuit 

cir  cu  lar 

de  ceive 

bla  ma  ble 

cir  cum  fer  ence 

dec  i  mal 

blame  less 

ci  vil  i  ty 

de  clen  sion 

272 


PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 


de  crease 
de  fi  cient 
de  li  cious 
de  liv  er  ance 
de  moc  ra  cy 
de  pos  it 
de  scrip  tion 
de  sign 
de  sir  ous 
de  spair 
des  per  ate 
des  troy 
de  ter  mine 
di  am  e  ter 
die  tion  a  ry 
differ  ence 
di  lap  i  dat  ed 
diph  the  ri  a 
diph  thong 
dis  ap  pear  ance 
dis  ap  point 
dis  as  trous 
dis  perse 
di  vis  i  ble 
doc  ile 
du  pli  cate 

ear  nest 

e  clipse 

ed  i  tor 

eighth 

e  lee  trie  i  ty 

el  i  gi  ble 

el  lipse 

el  o  quence 

em  bar  rass  ment 

em  i  grate 

em  ploy  ee 

cm  ploy  er 


en  cy  clo  pe  di  a 

en  deav  or 

en  er  gy 

en  gi  neer 

en  thu  si  asm 

ep  och 

e  qual 

e  qual  i  ty 

e  qual  ly 

es  sen  tial 

et  i  quette 

ex  ag  ger  ate 

ex  ceed 

ex  eel 

ex  eel  lent 

ex  haust 

ex  pe  ri  ence 

ex  plain 

ex  pla  na  tion 

ex  plan  a  to  ry 

ex  po  si  tion 

ex  treme  ly 

ex  traor  di  na  ry 

fa  cil  i  ty 
fac  tor 
fac  ul  ty 
fa  mil  iar 
fas  ci  nate 
fau  cet 
fi  ber 
flour  ish 
fore  head 
for  eign 
for  feit 
for  got  ten 
friend  ly 

gaily 
gaiety 


gen  er  al  ly 

ge  ni  al 

glac  i  er 

gov  em  ment 

grad  ual 

gram  mar 

grand  daugh  ter 

gran  deur 

gran  ite 

guar  an  tee 

guard  i  an 

guest 

guilty 

gym  na  si  um 

gypsy 

han  die 
heav  y 
height 

hin  drance  '' 
home  ly 
ho  ri  zon 
hur  ry  ing 
hy  a  cinth 
hy  dran  ge  a 
hy  dro  gen 
hymn 
hy  giene 
hy  phen 

il  lu  mine 
il  lus  trate 
im  ag  i  na  tion 
im  mi  grate 
im  par  tial 
im  per  a  tive 
in  au  gu  rate 
in  CO  her  ent 
in  crease 


RULES  FOR   SPELLING 


273 


in  cred  i  ble 

mas  sa  ere 

ob  ser  vanee 

in  diet 

med  i  cine 

ob  so  lete 

in  di  vid  u  al 

me  di  e  val 

oc  ca  sion 

in  fin  i  tive 

med  ley 

occur 

in  i  tial 

mel  an  chol  y 

oc  cur  rence 

in  nu  mer  a  ble 

mer  chan  dise 

om  e  let 

in  sert 

met  a  phor 

0  paque 

in  ser  tion 

met  on  y  my 

op  por  tu  ni  ty 

in  tel lect 

mi  cro  scope 

op  po  si  tion 

in  ter  ro  ga  tion 

mile  age 

or  ches  tra 

is  land 

mis  eel  la  ne  ous 

or  di  na  ry 

mis  chie  vous 

0  ri  ent 

jeal  ous 

mod  i  fi  er 

ox  y  gen 

jew  el  ry 

mon  0  syl  la  ble 

jon  quil 

mort  gage 

par  al  lei 

jour  ney 

mu  tu  al 

par  a  graph 

judge 

mys  ter  y 

pa  ren  the  sis 

judg  ment 

myth 

par  lia  ment 

juice 

myth  ol  0  gy 

par  ti  ci  pie 

jun  ior 

pat  ent 

keel 

naph  tha 

pe  nin  su  la 

ker  nel 
kin  die 

nar  ra  tion 

pen  in  su  lar 

nat  u  ral  i  za  tion 

per  ceive 

knack 

ne  ees  si  ty 

per  sist  ence 

knowl  edsre 

neg  a  tive 

person  ifi  ca  tion 

1             *       * 

0 

ne  go  ti  ate 

phy  SI  eian 

label 

neigh  bor 

phys  i  ol  0  gy 

lab  0  ra  to  ry 

nei  ther 

plan  ning 

lab  y  rinth 

neph  ew 

pol  y  syl  la  ble 

league 

neu  ter 

pos  ses  sion 

leg  is  la  ture 

niece 

post  pone 

lei  sure 

nom  i  na  tive 

poul  try 

let  tuce 

no  tice  a  ble 

prai  rie 

li  bra  ry 

nour  ish 

pre  cede 

lieu  ten  ant 

nu  mer  al 

pre  ce  dent 

lit  er  a  ture 

nymph 

prec  i  pice 
pred  i  cate 

man  age  a  ble 

0  be  di  ent 

pre  fer 

ma  noeu  ver 

ob  lique 

prep  a  ra  tion 

274 


PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 


prep  0  si  tion 

scis  sors 

ta  bleau 

pres  i  dent 

scru  pu  Ious 

tel  e  graph 

priv  i  lege 

sec  re  ta  ry 

there  fore 

pro  ceed 

se  cu  ri  ty 

ther  mom  e  ter 

pro  fess  or 

seize 

thor  ough 

psalm 

sep  a  rate 

through 

pulse 

ser  geant 

tough 

punc  tu  al 

serv  ice  a  ble 

trag  e  dy 

pur  suit 

shep  herd 

treas  ur  y 

shi  ning 

tri  umph 

qual  i  fy 

shoul  der 

tru  Iv 

ques  tion 

siege 

twelfth 

quo  ta  tion 

sim  i  le 

typ  ic  al 

rasp  ber  ry 

sit  u  a  tion 

tyr  an  ny 

re  al  i  ty 

sketch 

re  al  ly 
re  ceive 

skill  ful 

um  brel  la 

sleigh 

up  right 

rec  og  nize 

so  cial 

un  til 

reg  u  lar 

sol  dier 

re  hearse 

sol  emn 

vague 

re  li  ance 

sov  er  eign 

va  lise 

re  lig  ious 

spin  ach 

val  u  a  ble 

re  lieve 

stom  ach 

veg  e  ta  ble 

rem  e  dy 

strength  en 

ve  loc  i  ty 

re  mem  brance 

sub  or  di  nate 

ver  ti  cal 

res  er  voir 

sub  Stan  tial 

vil  lage 

re  sist  ance 

sue  cess  ful 

vine  yard 

re  spon  si  ble 

suf  fi  cient 

vi  0  lence 

rhet  0  ric 

sug  gest 

vis  i  ble 

rhyme 

su  per  in  tend  ent 

vol  un  ta  ry 

rib  bon 

sur  geon 

right  eous 

syl  la  ble 

weap  on 

^     sym  met  ri  cal 

weary 

safe  ly 

sym  pa  thy 

weird 

safe  ty 

syn  ec  do  che 

wher  ev  er 

sal  a  ry 

syn  0  nym 

whis  tie 

salm  on 

syn  op  sis 

whith  er 

scheme 

sur  prise 

whole  sale 

sci  en  tif  ic 

sys  tern 

whole  some 

RULES   FOR   SPELLING 


275 


wors  ted 

yacht 

wrath 

yeast 

wreath 

youth  fill 

wrist 

• 

Distinguish 

between  the  following 

ad  vice 

cur  rant 

ad  vise 

cur  rent 

ac  cept 

fi  nal  ly 

ex  cept 

fine  ly 

breadth 

form  al  ly 

breath 

for  mer  ly 

breathe 

freeze 

cap  i  tal 

frieze 

cap  i  tol 

knead 

cloth 

need 

clothe 
clothes 

knew 

new 

com  pie  ment 
com  pli  ment 

know 

coun  cil 

DO 

con  sul 

later 

coun  sel 

lat  ter 

zeal 

ze  nith 
zeph  yr 
zo  ol  o  gy 


prin  ci  pal 
prin  ci  pie 

qui  et 
quite 

sta  tion  a  ry 
sta  tion  e  ry 

stat  ue 
stat  ure 
stat  ute 

their 
there 

to 

too 
two 

weath  er 
wheth  er 


CHAPTER  X 
EXPOSITION 

Exposition  is  the  kind  of  speech  or  of  writing  that  makes 
clear  the  meaning  of  terms  or  of  propositions. 

The  purpose  of  exposition  is  to  convey  ideas  with  such 
clearness  and  exactness  that  they  cannot  be  misunderstood. 
Excepting  as  exposition  occurs  in  oratory  and  in  persuasion, 
it  usually  appeals  to  the  intellect  rather  than  to  the  emotions. 
Whatever  may  be  explained  or  commented  upon  is  material 
for  exposition. 

Explanation  by  Synonym.  —  The  simplest  form  of  exposi- 
tion is  explanation  by  synonym  (sometimes  called  definition 
by  synonym);  i.e.,  the  explanation  of  a  term  by  means  of 
another  term  that  will  be  more  easily  understood  by  the  per- 
son addressed ;  as,  for  example,  to  comprehend  means  to 
grasp  with  the  mind ;  to  like  means  to  have  a  taste  for ; 
likeness  means  similarity.  More  frequently,  however,  ex- 
position takes  the  form  of  extended  explanation. 

Extended  Explanation.  —  Many  words  and  statements  are 
so  complex  in  nature  or  so  rich  in  meaning  that  they  cannot 
be  explained  in  a  single  word  or  phrase.  They  can  be  made 
clear  only  by  means  of  analysis  or  of  illustrations  or  com- 
parisons given  at  some  length  and  familiar  to  the  person 
addressed.  Exposition  developed  by  details  is  extended 
explanation. 

Read  the  following  expositions : 

1.  More  than  two  thousand  years  ago  Hero  of  Alexandria  produced  the 
first  apparatus  to  which  the  name  of  steam  engine  could  rightly  be  given. 

276 


EXPOSITION  277 

Its  principle  was  practically  the  same  as  that  of  the  revolving  jet  used  to 
sprinkle  lawns  during  dry  weather,  steam  being  used  in  the  place  of  water. 
From  the  top  of  a  closed  caldron  rose  two  vertical  pipes,  which  at  their 
upper  ends  had  short,  right  angle  bends.  Between  them  was  hung  a  hollow 
globe,  pivoted  on  two  short  tubes  projecting  from  its  sides  into  the  upright 
tubes.  Two  little  L-shaped  pipes  projected  from  opposite  sides  of  the 
globe,  at  the  ends  of  a  diameter,  in  a  plane  perpendicular  to  the  axis.  On 
fire  being  applied  to  the  cauldron,  steam  was  generated.  It  passed  up 
through  the  upright,  through  the  pivots,  and  into  the  globe,  from  which  it 
escaped  by  the  two  L-shaped  nozzles,  causing  rapid  revolution  of  the  ball. 
In  short,  the  first  steam  engine  was  a  turbine. 

—  The  Steatn  Turbine,  Archibald  Williams. 

After  introducing  the  subject,  the  author  at  once  makes 
clear  the  principle  of  the  first  steam  engine  by  an  example 
of  the  working  of  the  principle  familiar  to  nearly  every  one. 
He  follows  this  by  an  explanation  of  the  mechanism  of  the 
engine,  so  simple  and  so  clear  that  any  one  can  understand 
it,  and  then  ends  by  classifying  the  machine  as  a  primitive 
form  of  what  every  one  knows  to  be  the  most  highly  devel- 
oped modern  engine.  The  language  used  is  a  help  to  a  clear 
understanding  of  the  subject  because  it  is  the  familiar  lan- 
guage of  everyday  life. 

2.  He  (Charles  the  Fifth)  was  an  enormous  eater.  He  breakfasted  at 
five,  on  a  fowl  seethed  in  milk  and  dressed  with  sugar  and  spices.  After 
this  he  went  to  sleep  again.  He  dined  at  twelve,  partaking  always  of 
twenty  dishes.  He  supped  twice,  at  first  soon  after  vespers,  and  the  sec- 
ond time  at  midnight  or  one  o'clock,  which  meal  was,  perhaps,  the  most 
solid  of  the  four.  After  meat  he  ate  a  great  quantity  of  pastry  and  sweet- 
meats, and  he  irrigated  every  repast  by  vast  draughts  of  beer  and  wine. 
His  stomach,  originally  a  wonderful  one,  succumbed  after  forty  years  of 
such  labors. —  The  Rise  of  the  Dutch  Republic,  Motley. 

The  proposition,  **  Charles  the  Fifth  was  an  enormous 
eater,"  is  made  so  vivid  as  to  be  unforgettable  by  exhibiting 
to  the  reader  the  amount  and  the  richness  of  the  food  eaten, 
the  frequency  of  the  meals,  and  the  duration  and  the  final 


278  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

effect  of  Charles's  gluttony.  The  magnitude  of  the  gluttony 
is  emphasized  by  words  which  tell  with  exactness  the  kind  of 
food  and  the  number  of  dishes  and  of  meals,  and  which  sug- 
gest the  consuming  of  amounts  of  food  almost  incredibly  large. 

3.  Though  I  speak  with  the  tongues  of  men  and  of  angels,  and  have 
not  charity,  I  am  become  as  sounding  brass,  or  a  tinkling  cymbal. 

And  though  I  have  the  gift  of  prophecy,  and  understand  all  mysteries, 
and  all  knowledge ;  and  though  I  have  all  faith,  so  that  I  could  remove 
mountains,  and  have  not  charity,  I  am  nothing. 

And  though  I  bestow  all  my  goods  to  feed  the  poor,  and  though  I  give 
my  body  to  be  burned,  and  have  not  charity,  it  profiteth  me  nothing. 

Charity  suffereth  long,  and  is  kind  ;  charity  envieth  not ;  charity  vaunteth 
not  itself,  is  not  puffed  up. 

Doth  not  behave  itself  unseemly,  seeketh  not  her  own,  is  not  easily  pro- 
voked, thinketh  no  evil ; 

Rejoiceth  not  m  iniquity,  but  rejoiceth  in  the  truth ; 

Beareth  all  things,  believeth  all  things,  hopeth  all  things,  endureth  all 
things. 

Charity  never  faileth  :  but  whether  there  be  prophecies,  they  shall  fail ; 
whether  there  be  tongues,  they  shall  cease ;  whether  there  be  knowledge, 
it  shall  vanish  away. 

For  we  know  in  part,  and  we  prophesy  in  part. 

But  when  that  which  is  perfect  is  come,  then  that  which  is  in  part  shall 
be  done  away. 

When  I  was  a  child,  I  spake  as  a  child,  I  understood  as  a  child,  I 
thought  as  a  child;  but  when  I  became  a  man,  I  put  away  childish  things. 

For  now  we  see  through  a  glass,  darkly ;  but  then  face  to  face ;  now  I 
know  in  part ;  but  then  shall  I  know  even  as  also  I  am  known. 

And  now  abideth  faith,  hope,  charity,  these  three ;  but  the  greatest  of 
these  is  charity.  —  i  Cor.  13,  The  Bible. 

This  selection  explains  the  meaning  of  the  term  '*  charity  " 
by  comparing  the  worth  of  "charity"  with  that  of  the  powers 
and  qualities  very  highly  valued  by  the  people  for  whom  the 
address  was  prepared ;  by  pointing  out  twelve  familiar  ways 
in  which  "  charity "  expresses  itself ;  by  emphasizing  by 
comparisons  the  lastingness  which  is  the  unique  element  in 


EXPOSITION 


279 


the  value  of  "  charity " ;  and,  lastly,  by  emphasizing  the 
supreme  worth  of  "  charity  "  as  compared  with  other  things 
which  endure.  The  language  used  is  simple  and  clear,  the 
comparisons  being  made  in  phrases  that  particularly  appealed 
to  the  people  addressed. 

Each  of  these  expositions  begins  with  a  statement  which 
indicates  the  subject  to  be  explained.  Each  exposition  is 
developed  by  just  those  details  which  are  essential  to  the 
understanding  of  the  subject.  In  each  exposition  the  details 
are  arranged  in  the  order  which  gives  an  increasingly  clear 
understanding  of  the  subject.  Each  exposition  ends  with  a 
true  conclusion.  In  all  of  the  expositions,  the  words  in  which 
the  ideas  are  expressed  are,  with  few  exceptions,  words  com- 
monly used  by  the  majority  of  people.  In  each  exposition, 
the  words  used  are  words  which  are  particularly  fitted  to 
explain  the  subject  to  the  people  for  whom  the  article  was 
prepared. 

SUMMARY 

To  write  extended  explanation: 

1.  At  the  beginning,  introduce  the  subject,  define  its  scope,  and  sug- 

gest in  a  general  way  the  point  to  be  made. 

2.  Develop  the  explanation  by  the  details  essential  to  a  clear  and 

exact  understanding  of  the  subject. 

3.  Arrange  the  details  in  the  order  that  gives  an  exact  and  increas- 

ingly clear  understanding  of  the  subject. 

4.  Conclude  with  a  statement  that  rounds  out  and  completes  the 

subject. 

5.  Express  the  ideas  in  language  that  is  exact  and  vivid  in  sugges- 

tion and  that  is  famiUar  to  the  person  addressed. 

EXERCISE  I 

Read  carefully  the  following  expositions  : 

I.  There  is  a  form  of  sea  roving  which  has  been  at  times  not  very 
different  from  piracy ;  it  is  called  privateerings  and  history  shows  a  good 
many  cases  where  it  has  degenerated  into  sea  robbery  pure  and  simple. 


28o  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

A  privateer  is  a  ship,  owned  by  a  private  citizen  or  citizens,  to  which 
authority  is  given  by  the  government  to  act  as  an  independent  war  vessel. 
Its  commission  is  called  a  "  letter  of  marque  ''  {lettre  de  marque^  in  French), 
entitling  it  to  "  take,  burn,  and  destroy  "  a  certain  enemy's  property  on  the 
sea  or  in  its  ports.     It  has  no  right,  of  course,  to  attack  any  one  else. 

—  The  Book  of  the  Ocean,  Ingersoll. 

2.  On  a  typical  day  during  this  backward  march  we  would  leave  camp 
at  about  6.40  a.m.,  and  half  an  hour  later  would  have  recovered  our  frost- 
bitten fingers,  while  the  moisture  on  our  clothes,  melted  in  the  sleeping 
bags,  would  have  begun  to  abate,  after  having  first  frozen  hard.  We  would 
be  beginning  to  march  with  some  degree  of  comfort,  and  one  of  us  would 
remark,  •'  Well,  boys,  what  are  we  going  to  have  for  breakfast  to-day  ? '' 
We  had  just  finished  our  breakfast  as  a  matter  of  fact,  consisting  of  half  a 
pannikin  of  semi-raw  horse  meat,  one  biscuit  and  a  half  and  a  pannikin  of 
tea,  but  the  meal  had  not  taken  the  keenness  from  our  appetites.  We  used 
to  try  to  persuade  ourselves  that  our  half  biscuit  was  not  quite  half,  and 
sometimes  we  managed  to  get  a  little  bit  more  that  way.  The  question 
would  receive  our  most  serious  and  careful  consideration  at  once,  and  we 
would  proceed  to  weave  from  our  hungry  imaginations  a  tale  of  a  day  spent 
in  eating.  "  Now  we  are  on  board  ship,"  one  man  would  say.  "We  wake 
up  in  a  bunk,  and  the  first  thing  we  do  is  to  stretch  out  our  hands  to  the 
side  of  the  bunk  and  get  some  chocolate,  some  Garibaldi  biscuits,  and  some 
apples.  Breakfast  will  be  at  eight  o'clock,  and  we  will  have  porridge,  fish, 
bacon  and  eggs,  cold  ham,  plum  pudding,  sweets,  fresh  roll  and  butter, 
marmalade  and  coffee.  At  eleven  o'clock  we  will  have  hot  cocoa,  open  jam 
tarts,  fried  cod's  roe,  and  slices  of  heavy  plum  cake.  That  will  be  all  until 
lunch  at  one  o'clock.  For  lunch  we  will  have  Wild  roll,  shepherd's  pie,  fresh 
soda  bread,  hot  milk,  treacle  pudding,  nuts,  raisins,  and  cake.  After  that 
we  will  turn  in  for  a  sleep,  and  we  will  be  called  at  3.45,  when  we  will 
reach  out  again  from  the  bunks  and  have  doughnuts  and  sweets.  We 
will  get  up  then  and  have  big  cups  of  hot  tea  and  fresh  cake  and  chocolate 
creams.  Dinner  will  be  at  six,  and  we  will  have  thick  soup,  roast  beef  and 
Yorkshire  pudding,  cauliflower,  peas,  asparagus,  plum  pudding,  fruit,  apple 
pie  with  thick  cream,  scones  and  butter,  port  wine,  nuts,  and  almonds  and 
raisins.  Then  at  midnight  we  will  have  a  really  big  meal,  just  before  we  go 
to  bed.  There  will  be  melon,  grilled  trout  and  butter  sauce,  roast  chicken 
with  plenty  of  livers,  a  proper  salad  with  eggs  and  very  thick  dressing, 
green  peas  and  new  potatoes,  a  saddle  of  mutton,  fried  suet  pudding,  peaches 
h  la  Melba,   egg  curry,  plum  pudding  and  sauce,  Welsh   rabbit.  Queen's 


EXPOSITION  281 

pudding,  angels  on  horseback,  cream  cheese  and  celery,  fruit,  nuts,  port 
wine,  milk,  and  cocoa.  Then  we  will  go  to  bed  and  sleep  till  breakfast 
time.  We  will  have  chocolate  and  biscuits  under  our  pillows,  and,  if  we 
want  anything  to  eat  in  the  night,  we  will  just  have  to  get  it.''  Three  of  us 
would  listen  to  this  program  and  perhaps  suggest  amendments  and  im- 
provements, generally  in  the  direction  of  additional  dishes,  and  then  an- 
other one  of  us  would  take  up  the  running  and  sketch  another  glorious  day 
of  feeding  and  sleeping.  —  In  the  Heart  of  the  Antarctic^  Shackleton. 

In  each  of  the  expositions  : 

a.  Quote  the  words  which  state  the  subject. 

b.  Tell  what  each  detail  contributes  to  the  clear  understanding  of  the 

subject. 

c.  Show  that  the  order  in  which  the  details  are  given  helps  to  a  clear 

understanding  of  the  subject. 

d.  Quote  the  words  which  explain  the  subject :  ( i )  by  stating  exactly  ; 

(2)  by  suggesting  vividly,  although  not  stating  exactly. 

THEME  I 

1.  Explain  the  principle  of  action  of  each  object  in  each  of  the  follow- 
ing groups  of  objects : 

(i)   Balloon,  plow,  shovel,  top,  tilt,  scissors. 

(2)  Kitchen  stove,  egg  beater,  carpet  sweeper,  pump. 

(3)  Vacuum  cleaner,  mowing  machine,  cultivator,  typewriter. 

(4)  Piano,  flute,  violin,  loom,  lobster  pot,  life  boat. 

2.  Write  an  exposition  in  which  you  express  clearly  and  definitely 
your  opinion  as  to  a  marked  characteristic  of  some  person,  animal,  place, 
material,  or  object. 

3.  Write  an  exposition  in  which  you  express  your  opinion  as  to  the 
nature  and  the  practical  value  of  some  quality  of  character,  such  as  pluck, 
perseverance,  love  of  fun,  endurance,  agreeableness. 

In  each  of  your  expositions  : 

a.  In  what  words  have  you  indicated  your  subject  ? 

b.  What  information  essential  to  a  clear  understanding  of  the  subject 

is  given  by  each  detail  ? 

c.  How  does  the  order  in  which  you  have  presented  details  increase 

the  clearness  of  understanding  of  the  subject? 

d.  What  words  in  your  theme  form  a  true  conclusion  ? 


282  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

e.  Which  of  the  words  that  you  have  used  explain  the  meaning  of  the 
subject:  (i)  by  stating  exactly ;  (2)  by  suggesting  vividly  with- 
out stating  exactly? 

Common  Varieties  of  Extended  Explanation.  —  There  are 
several  common  varieties  of  extended  explanation. 

The  Explanation  of  a  Process.  —  One  of  the  varieties  of  ex- 
tended explanation  most  frequently  used  is  the  exposition  of 
a  process. 

Read  the  following  expositions  : 

I.  The  Spartans  .  .  .  could  maintain  their  rule  only  by  making  of  them- 
selves a  standing  army  and  by  keeping  up  a  constant  military  training. 
Every  Spartan  must  have  a  sound  body  to  begin  with.  The  father  brought 
his  boy  soon  after  birth  to  the  elders  of  his  tribe ;  and  if  they  found  him 
puny  and  ill-shaped,  they  ordered  him  to  be  exposed  to  death  in  a  chasm 
of  the  mountains  near  by,  but  if  they  judged  the  boy  strong  and  healthy, 
they  assigned  him  a  lot  of  land  for  his  keeping.  The  Spartan  boy  was  to 
his  seventh  year  in  the  care  of  his  mother ;  then  the  state  took  charge 
of  his  education,  and  placed  him  in  a  company  of  lads  under  a  trainer. 
From  the  age  of  twelve  he  must  gather  reeds  for  his  own  bed  from  the 
banks  of  the  Eurotas,  and  must  learn  to  live  without  underclothing  and 
to  go  barefoot  winter  and  summer.  Every  year  the  boys  must  give  a  test 
of  their  endurance  by  submitting  to  a  whipping  before  the  altar  of  the 
Goddess  Artemis,  and  he  was  the  hero  who  could  endure  the  flogging 
longest.  Boys,  youths,  and  young  men  were  organized  in  troops,  and  com- 
panies, and  exercised  in  marching,  sham  fighting,  and  gymnastics.  They 
were  taught  to  hunt  and  to  be  nimble  and  cunning,  but  their  only  mental 
culture  was  in  music  and  poetry.  The  whole  object  of  their  education  was 
to  make  brave,  strong,  and  well-disciplined  soldiers. 

—  A  History  of  Greece^  Botsford. 

The  process  by  which  the  Spartans  became  a  nation  of 
soldiers  is  made  clear  by  telling  how  they  selected  children 
suitable  for  citizenship  and  provided  for  their  support,  by 
indicating  how  the  children  were  cared  for  until  fit  to  undergo 
training,  by  giving  examples  of  the  kind  of  training  typical  of 
the  Spartan  method  of  developing  endurance  and  skill. 


EXPOSITION  283 

2.  After  days  of  excitement  and  danger  and  after  months  of  weary, 
iTionotonous  toil,  the  chosen  ground  is  reached  and  the  final  camp  pitched. 
The  footsore  animals  are  turned  loose  to  shift  for  themselves,  outlying 
camps  of  two  or  three  men  each  being  established  to  hem  them  in.  Mean- 
while the  primitive  ranchhouse,  outbuildings,  and  corrals  are  built,  the 
unhewn  cottonwood  logs  being  chinked  with  moss  and  mud,  while  the 
roofs  are  of  branches  covered  with  dirt,  spades  and  axes  being  the  only 
tools  needed  for  the  work.  Bunks,  chairs,  and  tables  are  all  home  made 
and  as  rough  as  the  houses  they  are  in.  The  supplies  of  coarse,  rude  food 
are  carried  perhaps  two  or  three  hundred  miles  from  the  nearest  town, 
either  in  the  ranch  wagons  or  else  by  some  regular  freighting  outfit,  the 
huge  canvas-topped  prairie  schooners,  each  of  which  is  drawn  by  several 
yoke  of  oxen,  or  perhaps  by  six  or  eight  mules.  To  guard  against  the 
numerous  mishaps  of  prairie  travel,  two  or  three  of  these  prairie  schooners 
usually  go  together,  the  brawny  teamsters,  known  either  as  "  bull-whack- 
ers" or  as  "mule-skinners,"  stalking  beside  their  slow-moving  teams. 

The  small  outlying  camps  are  often  tents,  or  mere  dugouts  in  the 
ground.  But  at  the  main  ranch  there  will  be  a  cluster  of  log  buildings, 
including  a  separate  cabin  for  the  foreman  or  ranchman ;  often  another  in 
which  to  cook  and  eat ;  a  long  house  for  the  men  to  sleep  in ;  stables, 
sheds,  a  blacksmith's  shop,  etc.,  —  the  whole  group  forming  quite  a  little 
settlement,  with  the  corrals,  the  stacks  of  natural  hay,  and  the  patches  of 
fenced  land  for  gardens  or  horse  pastures.  This  little  settlement  may  be 
situated  right  out  in  the  treeless,  nearly  level  open,  but  much  more  often  is 
placed  in  the  partly  wooded  bottom  of  a  creek  or  river,  sheltered  by  the 
usual  background  of  somber  brown  hills. 

—  Ranch  Life  of  the  Hunting  Camp^  Roosevelt. 

The  formation  of  a  winter  camp  for  ranchmen  is  made 
clear  by  showing  how  the  cattle  are  cared  for,  how  the  camp 
is  constructed,  how  it  is  suppUed  with  necessities,  and  what  it 
is  Hke  when  finished. 

3.  Speak  the  speech,  I  pray  you,  as  I  pronounced  it  to  you,  trippingly 
on  the  tongue :  but  if  you  mouth  it,  as  many  of  your  players  do,  I  had  as 
lief  the  town-crier  spoke  my  lines.  Nor  do  not  saw  the  air  too  much  with 
your  hand,  thus  ;  but  use  all  gently :  for  in  the  very  torrent,  tempest,  and, 
as  I  may  say,  whirlwind  of  your  passion,  you  must  acquire  and  beget  a 
temperance  that  may  give  it  smoothness.     Be  not  too  tame  neither,  but  let 


284  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

your  own  discretion  be  your  tutor :  suit  the  action  to  the  word,  the  word  to 
the  action  ;  with  this  special  observance,  that  you  o'erstep  not  the  modesty 
of  nature :  for  anything  so  overdone  is  from  the  purpose  of  playing,  whose 
end,  both  at  the  first  and  now,  was  and  is,  to  hold,  as  'twere,  the  mirror  up 
to  nature. — Hamlet,  Shakespeare. 

Instruction  in  acting  is  here  given  by  telling  what  to  do, 
what  not  to  do,  and  what  the  purpose  and  the  end  of  acting 
is. 

Each  of  these  expositions  explains  a  process  by  develop- 
ing the  essential  steps  of  the  process  in  the  order  in  which 
they  must  be  performed  to  make  the  process  successful  and 
by  stating  at  the  end  what  the  final  outcome  of  the  process 
ought  to  be. 

SUMMARY  I 

To  explain  a  process : 

1.  Decide  upon  the  steps  necessary  to  work  out  the  process. 

2.  Develop  each  step  by  essential  details. 

3.  Give  the  steps  in  the  order  in  which   they  must  be   performed 

to  make  the  process  successful. 

4.  State  at  the  end  what  the  outcome  of  the  process  ought  to  be. 

EXERCISE  II 

Read  carefully  the  following  expositions  : 

I.  As  soon  as  the  ice  was  strong  enough  to  bear  in  the  bay,  Murray 
commenced  his  operations  there.  His  object  was  the  collection  of  the 
ditTerent  marine  creatures  that  rest  on  the  bottom  of  the  sea  or  creep  about 
there,  and  he  made  extensive  preparations  for  their  capture.  A  hole  was 
dug  through  the  ice  and  a  trap  let  down  to  the  bottom  ;  this  trap  was 
baited  with  a  piece  of  penguin  or  seal,  and  the  shell-fish,  Crustacea,  and 
other  marine  animals  found  their  way  in  through  the  opening  in  the  top, 
and  the  trap  was  usually  left  down  for  a  couple  of  days.  When  it  was 
hauled  up,  the  contents  were  transferred  to  a  tin  containing  water  and 
then  taken  to  the  hut  and  thawed  out,  for  the  contents  always  froze  during 
the  quarter  of  a  mile  walk  homeward.  As  soon  as  the  animals  thawed 
out  they  were  sorted  into  bottles  and  then  killed  by  various  chemicals, 
put  into  spirits  and  bottled  up  for  examination  when  they  reached  Eng- 
land. —  In  the  Heart  of  the  Antarctic,  Shackleton. 


EXPOSITION  285 

2.  Partridges,  ducks,  quail,  and  other  wild  fowl  are  most  delicious  when 
cooked  in  the  ashes.  The  bird  should  be  drawn  in  the  ordinary  manner, 
and  the  inside  washed  perfectly  clean.  It  should  be  embedded  in  the  hot 
coals  and  ashes,  the  feathers  having  been  previously  saturated  with  water. 
When  done,  the  skin  and  feathers  will  easily  peel  off  and  the  flesh  will  be 
found  to  be  wonderfully  sweet,  tender,  and  juicy.  A  stuffing  of  pounded 
crackers  and  minced  meat  of  any  kind,  with  plenty  of  seasoning,  greatly  im- 
proves the  result,  or  the  Indian  meal  may  be  used  if  desired.  A  fowl  thus 
roasted  is  a  rare  delicacy. —  Ca)np  Life  a?id  the  Tricks  of  Trapping,  Gibson. 

In  each  selection  : 

a.  Quote  the  words  that  first  indicate  the  result  to  be  accomplished. 

b.  State  the  number  and  the  nature  of  the  details  which  form  the  pro- 

cess by  which  the  result  is  accomplished. 

c.  Explain  why  the  details  are  presented  in  the  given  order. 

d.  Quote  the  words  that  suggest  the  exact  outcome  of  the  process. 

THEME  II 

1.  Explain  a  process  which  you  have  used  in  making  some  article,  such 
as  a  trap,  a  book  rack,  a  plant  stand,  a  bracket,  a  basket,  a  piece  of  fancy 
work,  an  article  of  clothing. 

2.  Explain  the  method  of  using  a  meat  chopper,  a  plow,  a  telephone. 

3.  Explain  the  method:  (i)  of  harnessing  a  horse;  (2)  of  setting  a 
table  ;   (3)  of  dusting  a  room  ;   (4)  of  building  a  camp  fire. 

4.  Explain  a  successful  method  (i)  of  teaching  a  pet  animal  how  to 
perform  a  trick  ;  (2)  of  breaking  in  a  colt ;  (3)  of  sailing  a  boat ;  (4) 
of  running  a  motor  car. 

5.  Explain  the  usual  method:  (i)  of  laying  a  track;  (2)  of  harvesting 
grain. 

In  each  of  your  compositions  : 

a.  What  words  introduce  the  subject  ? 

b.  In  what  way  is  each  of  the  details  essential  to  the  accomplishing 

of  the  desired  end  ? 

c.  How  w'ould  a  change  in  the  order  in  which   the   details  are  pre- 

sented  affect   the  clearness  of  the  impression   made  upon  the 
listener  or  the  reader  ? 

d.  In  what   words  have   you   made  clear  the  final   outcome   of  the 

process  ? 


286  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

The  Giving  of  Instructions  or  Directions.  —  A  slightly  differ- 
ent variety  of  extended  explanation  is  the  giving  of  instruc- 
tions, or  directions. 

Read  the  following  exposition : 

Headquarters,  Red  Army, 

Aug.    12,  '09,  10  P.M. 

General  Tasker  H.  Bliss, 

Commanding  ist  Division,  ist  Corps, 
Red  Army. 

General — It  is  reported  that  the  enemy  is  concentrating  militia  and  a 
small  force  of  regular  troops  for  the  defense  of  the  Boston-Narragansett 
District.  Reliable  information  received  through  our  spies  indicates  that 
the  fortifications  in  these  districts  are  too  strong  to  be  carried  by  direct 
assault. 

Our  main  army  is  already  mobilized,  and  its  concentration  is  nearing 
completion.  Reinforcements  will  follow  you  as  rapidly  as  our  transport 
service  will  permit. 

It  is  desired  that  you  take  full  advantage  of  the  victory  gained  by  our 
navy.  To  this  end  you  will  press  forward  as  rapidly  as  possible,  land  your 
command,  and  turn  the  enemy^s  fortifications  from  the  rear.  Endeavor  to 
capture  and  hold  a  good  base  for  subsequent  extensive  land  operations  of 
our  armies. 

To  secure  the  greatest  degree  of  mobility  the  transportation  and 
baggage  of  your  command  will  be  reduced  to  a  minimum. 

Captain  Gulick,  commanding  your  naval  escort,  has  been  directed  to  co- 
operate with  you. 

Very  respectfully, 

Leonard  Wood, 

Major-General,  Commanding. 

Characterization.  —  Another  variety  of  extended  explana- 
tion frequently  found  is  exposition  of  character,  or  character- 
ization. A  characterization  may  point  out  the  peculiarities 
of  an  individual,  of  a  class,  or  of  a  people. 

Read  the  following  expositions: 

I.  Oriental  despots  are  perhaps  the  worst  class  of  human  beings;  and 
this  unhappy  boy  (Surajah  Dowlah)  was  one  of  the  worst  specimens  of  his 


EXPOSITION  287 

class.  His  understanding  was  naturally  feeble  and  his  temper  naturally 
unamiable.  His  education  had  been  such  as  would  have  enervated  even  a 
vigorous  intellect  and  perverted  even  a  generous  disposition.  He  was 
unreasonable  because  nobody  ever  dared  to  reason  with  him,  and  selfish, 
because  he  had  never  been  made  to  feel  himself  dependent  on  the  good 
will  of  others.  Early  debauchery  had  unnerved  his  body  and  his  mind. 
He  indulged  immoderately  in  the  use  of  ardent  spirits,  which  inflamed  his 
weak  brain  almost  to  madness.  His  chosen  companions  were  flatterers, 
sprung  from  the  dregs  of  the  people  and  recommended  by  nothing  but 
buffoonery  and  servility.  It  is  said  that  he  had  arrived  at  that  last  stage 
of  human  depravity,  when  cruelty  becomes  pleasing  for  its  own  sake,  when 
the  sight  of  pain  as  pain,  where  no  advantage  is  to  be  gained,  no  offense 
punished,  no  danger  averted,  is  an  agreeable  excitement.  It  had  early 
been  his  amusement  to  torture  beasts  and  birds  ;  and  when  he  grew  up 
he  enjoyed  with  still  keener  relish  the  misery  of  his  fellow-creatures. 

—  Lord  Clive,  Macaulay. 

The  qualities  of  character  that  distinguished  Surajah 
Dowlah  are  brought  out,  first,  by  giving  him  the  character- 
istics peculiar  to  his  class  and  stating  his  place  in  that  class ; 
next,  by  showing  how  he  came  to  have  his  qualities  through 
his  natural  inclination  and  his  education,  and  the  habits  that 
grew  out  of  them  ;  last,  by  giving  as  conclusion  a  trait  which 
is  evidence  of  perfect  wickedness. 

The  qualities  are  presented  in  the  order  of  their  develop- 
ment. They  are  expressed  in  clear,  specific  words,  many  of 
which  state  a  high  degree  of  badness.  The  quaUties  are  fur- 
ther emphasized  by  means  of  suggested  comparisons  with 
their  direct  opposites. 

2.  Whatever  Blaisdell  undertook  was  initiated  by  pressing  an  electric 
button  in  his  inner  ofiice.  Through  it  and  the  telephone  he  aspired  to  rule 
the  world.  Sooner  or  later  there  appeared  his  financial  factotum,  his 
political  man  of  all  work,  or  whichever  one  of  his  salaried  agents  he 
desired  to  consult.  They  were  like  so  many  stops  in  an  organ  ;  he  had 
but  to  finger  them  in  order  to  test  and  play  on  public  sentiment.  Through 
them  he  had  out  feelers  in  diverse  directions.  His  agents  kept  henchmen 
on  the  lookout  for  promising  investments,  henchmen  whose  duty  it  was  to 


288  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

see  that  accommodating  candidates  were  elected  to  the  Legislature,  hench- 
men charged  with  the  discovery  of  impecunious  noblemen  desirous  to  part 
with  artistic  masterpieces.  Blaisdell  sitting  in  his  inner  sanctum  was  in 
virtual  touch  with  many  corners  of  the  earth. 

—  The  Chippendales,  Robert  Grant. 

The  type  of  man  that  Blaisdell  represents  is  set  forth  by- 
showing  the  ends  which  Blaisdell  wished  to  gain  and  the 
methods  which  he  used  and  permitted  others  to  use  in  accom- 
plishing his  ends.  A  general  idea  of  Blaisdell  as  a  man  of 
affairs  is  first  given  by  stating  his  usual  method  of  beginning 
business  operations.  This  impression  is  deepened  by  sug- 
gesting his  overwhelming  ambition,  the  variety  and  the  extent 
of  his  interests,  the  magnitude  of  the  system  of  which  he  was 
the  center,  and  the  unscrupulous  methods  which  he  required 
his  underlings  to  use.  The  impression  is  fixed  by  a  conclud- 
ing statement  of  the  far-reaching  effect  of  Blaisdell's  power. 

The  details  are  presented  in  the  order  which,  by  giving, 
first,  the  motive  for  action,  second,  the  direction  of  effort, 
third,  the  method  of  work,  and  fourth,  the  result,  gives  clearly 
a  sense  of  the  enlarging  scope  of  Blaisdell's  influence. 

The  details  are  expressed  in  language  which  includes  a 
large  proportion  of  words  suggestive  of  interest  in  large 
financial  deals. 

3.  I  come  last  to  the  character  and  ways  of  the  Americans  themselves, 
in  which  there  is  a  certain  charm,  hard  to  convey  by  description,  but  felt 
almost  as  soon  as  one  sets  foot  on  their  shore,  and  felt  constantly  there- 
after. They  are  a  kindly  people.  Good  nature,  heartiness,  a  readiness  to 
render  small  services  to  one  another,  an  assumption  that  neighbors  in  the 
country,  or  persons  thrown  together  in  travel,  or  even  in  a  crowd,  were 
meant  to  be  friendly  rather  than  hostile  to  one  another,  seem  to  be  every- 
where in  the  air  and  in  those  who  breathe  it.  Sociability  is  the  rule,  isola- 
tion and  moroseness  the  rare  exception.  It  is  not  merely  that  people  are 
more  vivacious  or  talkative  than  an  Englishman  expects  to  find  them,  for 
the  Western  man  is  often  taciturn  and  seldom  wreathes  his  long  face  into 


EXPOSITION  289 

a  smile.  It  is  rather  that  you  feel  that  the  man  next  you,  whether  silent  or 
talkative,  does  not  mean  to  repel  intercourse,  or  convey  by  his  manner  his 
low  opinion  of  his  fellow-creatures.  Everybody  seems  disposed  to  think 
well  of  the  world  and  its  inhabitants,  well  enough  at  least  to  wish  to  be  on 
easy  terms  with  them  and  serve  them  in  those  little  things  whose  trouble 
to  the  doer  is  small  in  proportion  to  the  pleasure  they  give  to  the  receiver. 
To  help  others  is  better  recognized  as  a  duty  than  in  Europe.  Nowhere  is 
money  so  readily  given  for  any  public  purpose ;  nowhere,  I  suspect,  are 
there  so  many  acts  of  private  kindness  done,  such,  for  instance,  as  paying 
the  college  expenses  of  a  promising  boy,  or  aiding  a  widow  to  carry  on  her 
husband's  farm  ;  and  these  are  not  done  with  ostentation.  People  seem  to 
take  their  own  troubles  more  lightly  than  they  do  in  Europe,  and  to  be  more 
indulgent  to  the  faults  by  which  troubles  are  caused.  It  is  a  land  of  hope, 
and  a  land  of  hope  is  a  land  of  good  humor.  And  they  have  also,  though 
this  is  a  quality  more  perceptible  in  women  than  in  men,  a  remarkable 
faculty  for  enjoyment,  a  power  of  drawing  more  happiness  from  obvious 
pleasures,  simple  and  innocent  pleasures,  than  one  often  finds  in  over- 
burdened Europe.  —  The  American  Commo)iwealth,  Bryce. 

The  character  of  the  American  people  is  made  clear  by 
first  naming  the  effect,  **  a  certain  charm,"  which  they  pro- 
duce upon  a  stranger,  and  by  then  discussing  the  qualities 
which  help  to  produce  this  effect.  The  quahties  are  taken 
in  the  order  in  which  they  would  be  noticed  by  a  stranger. 
They  are  expressed  in  language  which  makes  an  abstract 
idea  interesting  and  definite  by  means  of  words  and  phrases 
that  are  familiar  to  every  class  of  readers  among  English- 
speaking  people. 

Each  of  these  expositions  begins  by  introducing  the  person 
or  persons  to  be  characterized  and  suggesting  the  quality  of 
character  to  be  brought  out.  Each  is  developed  by  the  de- 
tails best  suited  to  bring  out  the  quality  in  question,  given  in 
the  order  best  suited  to  strengthen  belief  in  the  quality  in 
question.  Each  is  told  in  words  suggestive  of  the  environ- 
ment of  the  character  as  well  as  of  the  quality  to  be  brought 
out. 


290  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

SUMMARY    II 

To  write  a  characterization : 

1.  Name  the  person  to  be  characterized  and  indicate  the  quality  of 

character  to  be  brought  out. 

2.  Develop  the  theme  by  the  details  best  suited  to  bring  out  this 

quality. 

3.  Present  characteristics  in  the  order  in  which  they  developed,  in 

the  order  in  which  they  would  be  noticed,  or  in  the  order  of 
increasing  importance. 

4.  Use  words  suited  to  the  subject  and  suggestive  to  the  person 

addressed. 

EXERCISE  III 

Read  the  following  expositions  : 

I.  Among  the  people  whom  one  must  miss  out  of  one's  life,  dead,  or 
worse  than  dead,  by  the  time  one  is  fifty-four,  I  can  only  say,  for  my  own 
part,  that  the  one  I  practically  and  truly  miss  most,  next  to  father  and 
mother  (and  putting  losses  of  imaginary  good  out  of  the  question),  was 
a  "  menial,"  my  father's  nurse  and  mine.  She  was  one  of  our  many  — 
our  many  being  always  but  few  —  and  from  her  girlhood  to  her  old  age 
the  entire  ability  of  her  life  was  given  to  serving  us.  She  had  a  natural 
gift  and  specialty  for  doing  disagreeable  things  ;  above  all,  the  service  of  a 
sick-room ;  so  that  she  was  never  quite  in  her  glory  unless  some  of  us 
were  ill.  She  had  also  some  parallel  specialty  for  saying  disagreeable 
things  ;  and  might  be  relied  upon  to  give  the  extremely  darkest  view  of 
any  subject  before  proceeding  to  ameliorative  action  upon  it.  And  she 
had  a  very  creditable  and  republican  aversion  to  doing  immediately,  or  in 
set  terms,  as  she  was  bid ;  so  that  when  my  mother  and  she  got  old  to- 
gether and  my  mother  became  very  imperative  and  particular  about  having 
her  teacup  set  on  one  side  of  her  little  round  table,  Anne  would  observ- 
antly and  punctiliously  put  it  always  on  the  other ;  which  caused  my 
mother  to  state  to  me,  every  morning  after  breakfast,  gravely,  that  if  ever 
a  woman  in  this  world  was  possessed  by  the  Devil,  Anne  was  that  woman. 
But  in  spite  of  these  momentary  and  petulant  aspirations  to  liberty  and 
independence  of  character,  poor  Anne  remained  verily  servile  in  soul  all 
her  days,  and  was  altogether  occupied  from  the  age  of  fifteen  to  seventy- 
two,  in  doing  other  people's  wills  instead  of  her  own,  and  seeking  other 
people's  good  instead  of  her  own ;  nor  did  I  ever  hear  on  any  occasion  of 
her  doing  harm  to  a  human  being,  except  by  saving  two  hundred  and  some 


EXPOSITION  291 

odd  pounds  for  her  relations  ;  in  consequence  of  which  some  of  them,  after 
her  funeral,  did  not  speak  to  the  rest  for  several  months. 

—  Fors  Clavigera,  Ruskin. 

2.  By  the  untimely  death  of  Frederic  Remington,  at  the  age  of  forty- 
eight,  the  country  loses  an  artist  whose  talents  were  devoted  to  the  graphic 
delineation  of  the  American  Indian,  the  American  soldier,  and  the  Ameri- 
can cowboy,  three  types  with  which  his  name  will  be  honorably  associated. 
He  took  for  his  chosen  and  congenial  field  the  plains  and  desert  regions  of 
the  Far  West,  and  the  historic  value  of  his  pictorial  records  must  be 
enhanced  materially  by  the  changing  conditions  which,  in  a  relatively 
short  time,  will  make  the  scenes  and  personages  with  which  he  dealt  a  part 
of  ancient  history.  His  pencil  has  always  been  animated  by  a  spirit  of 
vivid  reality  and  veracity,  and  what  might  have  struck  the  conventional 
mind  of  an  observer  accustomed  to  the  pictorial  traditions  of  a  generation 
ago  as  hopelessly  crude  and  ugly  material  was  treated  by  him  with  so  much 
freshness  and  originality  and  zest,  with  such  an  uncompromising  natural- 
ism, that  its  essential  truthfulness  obtained  recognition  and  approval. 

The  soldier,  the  cowboy,  and  the  Indian,  in  their  own  habitual  environ- 
ment, have  a  picturesqueness  which  might  be  described  as  of  an  unexpected 
quality ;  and  it  was  precisely  this  novel  quality  which  Remington  per- 
ceived and  expressed.  It  is  certain  that  there  was  crudeness  in  it,  both  as 
to  local  color  and  costume  and  the  human  type  ;  but  to  extenuate  this 
would  have  been  entirely  foreign  to  the  artist's  nature  and  purposes.  His 
art  was  masculine  and  aggressively  modern,  and  it  had,  in  an  unusual 
measure,  the  qualities  of  its  defects.  It  was  conceived  without  any 
thought  of  pleasing  a  dilettante  taste  ;  on  the  contrary,  there  may  have 
been  a  touch  of  the  juvenile  willingness  to  shock  the  tradition-bound  mind. 
This  was  but  a  part  of  the  tremendous  vitality  and  exuberant  enthusiasm  of 
the  man  for  the  bigness  and  freedom  of  the  West,  its  landscape  and  its 
people,  as  he  knew  them.  His  vigor  and  virility  spent  themselves  on 
thoroughly  congenial  motives  ;  it  was  the  strenuous  life  of  the  open  that 
appealed  to  him.  His  romance  was  somewhat  hidden  under  his  external 
style  of  raw  matter-of-fact  description,  but  it  was  there  all  the  same,  for 
those  who  had  enough  imagination  to  perceive  it.  Even  the  strange,  dis- 
cordant, hot  coloring  of  the  landscape  of  the  Southwest,  not  so  beautiful  as 
it  is  impressive,  not  so  harmonious  as  it  is  prodigious,  found  in  him  its 
interpreter,  resolved  to  set  it  forth  without  any  extenuation. 

Remington  had  in  excess  the  courage  of  his  convictions,  which  were 
not  in  all  cases  in  line  with  sound  aesthetic  principles ;  but,  as  he  was  true 


292 


PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 


to  his  own  ideals  and  his  own  purposes,  and  possessed  a  temperament 
abounding  in  enthusiasm  and  ardor,  his  appeal  to  the  public  was  strong 
and  his  hold  on  popular  approval  was  unquestionably  great.  As  an  illus- 
trator of  life  in  the  West,  one  might  or  might  not  like  Remington,  but  it 
was  impossible  to  overlook  him.  That  he  had  power,  that  he  told  a  story 
well  and  that  he  represented  something  new  in  his  own  way  sufficiently 
explains  the  importance  of  the  man.  —  Boston  Transcript. 

3.  The  Adelie  is  always  comical.  He  pops  out  of  the  water  with 
startling  suddenness,  like  a  jack-in-the-box,  alights  on  his  feet,  gives  his 
tail  a  shake,  and  toddles  off  about  his  business.  He  always  knows  where 
he  wants  to  go,  and  what  he  wants  to  do,  and  isn't  easily  turned  aside 
from  his  purpose.  —  In  the  Heart  of  the  Antarctic^  Shackleton. 

4.  The  advancing  frontiers  of  American  civilization  have  always  nur- 
tured a  class  of  men  of  striking  and  peculiar  character.  The  best 
examples  of  this  character  have,  perhaps,  been  found  among  the  settlers  of 
western  Virginia  and  the  hardy  progeny  who  have  sprung  from  that 
generous  stock.  The  Virginian  frontiersman  was,  as  occasion  called,  a 
farmer,  a  hunter,  and  a  warrior,  by  turns.  The  well-beloved  rifle  was 
seldom  out  of  his  hand ;  and  he  never  deigned  to  lay  aside  the  fringed 
frock,  moccasins,  and  Indian  leggins  which  formed  the  appropriate  cos- 
tume of  the  forest  ranger.  Concerning  the  business,  pleasures,  and  re- 
finements of  cultivated  life,  he  knew  little  and  cared  nothing  ;  and  his 
manners  were  usually  rough  and  obtrusive  to  the  last  degree.  Aloof  from 
mankind,  he  lived  in  a  world  of  his  own,  which,  in  his  view,  contained  all 
that  was  deserving  of  admiration  and  praise.  He  looked  upon  himself  and 
his  compeers  as  models  of  prowess  and  manhood,  nay,  of  all  that  is  elegant 
and  polite  ;  and  the  forest  gallant  regarded  with  peculiar  complacency  his 
own  half-savage  dress,  his  swaggering  gait,  and  his  backwoods  jargon. 
He  was  willful,  headstrong,  and  quarrelsome  ;  frank,  straightforward,  and 
generous  ;  brave  as  the  bravest,  and  utterly  intolerant  of  arbitrary  control. 
His  self-confidence  mounted  to  audacity.  Eminently  capable  of  heroism, 
both  in  action  and  endurance,  he  viewed  every  species  of  effeminacy  with 
supreme  contempt  ;  and,  accustomed  as  he  was  to  entire  self-reliance,  the 
mutual  dependence  of  conventional  life  excited  his  especial  scorn.  With 
all  his  ignorance,  he  had  a  mind  by  nature  quick,  vigorous,  and  penetrat- 
ing;  and  his  mode  of  life,  while  it  developed  the  daring  energy  of  his 
character,  wrought  some  of  his  faculties  to  a  high  degree  of  acuteness. 
Many  of  his  traits  have  been  reproduced  in  his  offspring.  From  him  have 
sprung  those  hardy  men  whose    struggles  and  sufferings   on  the   bloody 


EXPOSITION  293 

ground  of  Kentucky  will  always  form  a  striking  page  in  American  histor}' ; 
and  that  band  of  adventurers  before  whose  headlong  charge,  in  the  valley 
of  Chihuahua,  neither  breastworks,  nor  batteries,  nor  fivefold  odds  could 
avail  for  a  moment.  —  The  Conspiracy  of  Fontiac^  Parkman. 

5.  "  He  was  a  rogue,  and  the  worst  sort  of  rogue  —  a  chapel-going, 
preaching,  generous-handed,  warm-hearted  rogue.  Such  men  are  thieves 
of  virtue.     'Tis  an  infamous  story." 

The  lawyer  stared,  and  Humphrey  continued  : 

"Such  men  are  robbers,  I  tell  you  —  robbers  of  more  than  money  and 
widows'  houses.  They  are  always  seeming  honest,  and  never  being  so. 
They  run  with  the  hare  and  hunt  with  the  hounds.  They  get  the  benefit 
of  being  rogues,  and  the  credit  of  honest  men.  They  are  imitation  good 
men,  and  at  heart  know  not  the  meaning  of  real  goodness.  They  have 
the  name  of  being  generous  and  kind  —  they  are  neither.  Look  what  this 
man  has  left  behind  him  —  blessings  turned  to  curses.  All  a  sham  and  a 
lifelong  theft  of  men's  admiration  and  esteem  —  a  theft ;  for  he  won  it  by 
false  pretenses  and  lived  a  lie." 

—  The  Three  Brothers^  Eden  Phillpotts. 

In  each  selection  : 

a.  Quote  the  words  which  introduce  the  subject  and  define  its  scope. 

b.  Quote  the  words  which  indicate  in  a  general  way  the  point  to  be 

made. 

c.  Enumerate  the  details  by  which  the  exposition  is  developed. 

d.  Show  that  the  final  statement  is  a  true  conclusion  of  the  theme. 

e.  Show  in  what  way  the  order  in  which  the  details  are  presented 

helps  to  make  the  thought  clear. 
f.    Quote  the  words  which  state   characteristics   exactly  or  suggest 
them  vividly. 

THEME  III 

1.  Write  an  exposition  of  the  character  of  some  person  whom  you  know 
well,  who  has  some  marked  characteristic  or  characteristics. 

2.  Write  an  exposition  in  which  you  characterize  a  person  whom  you 
know  and  whom  you  think  a  type  of  a  class  of  people. 

3.  Write  an  exposition  in  which  you  characterize  a  community  of  peo- 
ple familiar  to  you. 

In  each  of  your  compositions  : 
a.    By  what  words  have  you  introduced  the  subject  and  indicated  the 
quality  of  character  to  be  brought  out  .-* 


294  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

b.  By  what  details  have  you  developed  the  exposition? 

c.  In  what  way  is  your  final    statement  a  true  conclusion  of  your 

theme  ? 

d.  In  what  way  does    he  order  in  which  you  have  presented  details 

help  to  make  the  thought  clear  ? 

e.  What  words  state  characteristics  accurately  ?     What  words  sug- 

gest them  vividly  ? 

4.  Read  your  themes  to  the  class  : 

a.  What  criticism  did  the  class  make  as  to  the  clearness  and  definite- 

ness^  of  each  characterization  ? 

b.  What  did  they  think  of  your  choice  and  arrangement  of  details? 

c.  What  did  they  say  about  the  logic  of  your  conclusion? 

d.  What  was  their  comment  upon  your  choice  of  words? 

5.  Rewrite  the  poorest  theme,  making  the  corrections  suggested  by  the 
class. 

6.  Review  your  theme  to  see  that  each  sentence  is  grammatical,  that  it 
is  accurately  punctuated,  that  it  contains  no  misspelled  words. 

The  Collating  of  Information. — A  somewhat  different  vari- 
ety of  extended  explanation  is  the  setting  forth  of  a  body  of 
facts,  impressions,  opinions,  or  judgments  collated  for  the 
purpose  of  adding  to  the  general  knowledge  of  the  subject. 
In  exposition  of  this  sort,  the  kind  of  details  selected  and  the 
order  in  which  details  arc  presented  must  be  of  a  nature  to 
give  extent  of  information.  The  language  in  which  the  ideas 
are  expressed  must  convey  the  thought  clearly  and  accurately 
to  the  persons  addressed. 

EXERCISE  IV 

Read  the  following  expositions  : 

I.  Emperors  [a  variety  of  penguins]  are  very  ceremonious  in  meeting 
other  Emperors  or  men  or  dogs.  They  come  up  to  a  party  of  strangers  in 
a  straggling  procession,  some  big  important  aldermanic  fellow  leading.  At 
a  respectful  distance  from  the  man  or  dog  they  halt,  the  old  male  waddles 
close  up  and  bows  gravely  till  his  beak  is  almost  touching  his  breast. 
Keeping  his  head  bowed,  he  makes  a  long  speech  in  a  muttering  manner, 
short  sounds  following  in  groups  of  four  or  five.     Having  finished  the 


EXPOSITION 


295 


speech,  the  head  is  still  kept  bowed  a  few  seconds  for  politeness'  sake,  then 
it  is  raised  and  he  describes  with  his  bill  as  large  a  circle  as  the  joints  of  his 
neck  will  allow,  looking  in  your  face  at  last  to  see  if  you  have  understood. 
If  you  have  not  comprehended,  as  is  usually  the  case,  he  tries  again.  He 
is  very  patient  with  your  stupidity,  and  feels  sure  that  he  will  get  it  into 
your  dull  brain  if  he  keeps  at  it  long  enough.  By  this  time  his  followers 
are  getting  impatient.  They  are  sure  he  is  making  a  mess  of  it.  Another 
male  will  waddle  forward  with  dignity,  elbow  the  first  aside  as  if  to  say, 
"  ril  show  you  how  it  ought  to  be  done,"  and  go  through  the  whole  business 
again.  Their  most  solemn  ceremonies  were  used  towards  the  dogs,  and 
three  old  fellows  have  been  seen  calmly  bowing  and  speaking  simultane- 
ously to  a  dog,  which  for  its  part  was  yelping  and  straining  at  its  chain  in 
the  effort  to  get  at  them.  — In  the  Heart  of  the  Antarctic,  Shackleton. 

2.   All  warships  are  now  classified  by  their  work,  not  by  their  shape  or 


size  or  rig. 


First,  fewest  and  heaviest  are  the  harbor-defense  vessels  —  monitors  and 
massively  walled  floating  batteries,  intended  to  remain  in  harbors  or  close 
to  the  coast  as  movable  forts. 

Second,  battleships  —  the  strongest,  most  thickly  armored,  heavily 
armed  style  of  ships  that  can  be  made  and  still  be  able  to  go  to  sea  ;  but 
these  are  not  expected  to  leave  their  home  ports  for  a  long  time,  nor  to  go 
to  any  great  distance  unless  compelled  to  do  so  in  actual  war. 

Third,  cruisers.  These  take  the  place  of  the  old-fashioned  lesser  fighting 
ships,  the  seventy-fours,  frigates,  corvettes,  and  sloops,  and  vary  greatly  in 
size,  model,  speed,  and  power  of  armament. 

Fourth,  small,  swift,  strongly  armed  but  lightly  armored  torpedo-boat 
chasers,  small  gunboats  for  use  in  rivers  and  shallow  coastal  waters 
dispatch  boats,  dynamite  cruisers,  such  as  our  American  Vesuvius,  tow- 
boats,  and  similar  minor  craft,  —  the  runabouts  of  the  naval  service. 

Fifth,  torpedo  boats. —  The  Book  of  the  Oceati,  Ingersoll. 

3.  Franklin  is  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  men  of  our  entire  history. 
Of  unaffected  manner  and  a  most  practical  mind,  he  was  an  astute  philos- 
opher and  a  far-sighted  statesman.  His  contributions  to  the  cause  of 
education  and  science  entitle  him  to  a  high  position  among  the  leaders  in 
those  branches,  and  as  a  diplomat  he  is  unexcelled  among  Americans. 
Beginning  life  as  a  journeyman  printer  in  Boston,  he  had  run  away  to 
Philadelphia,  established  a  paper  of  his  own,  founded  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  brought  the  administration  of  the  municipal  government 
in  his   adopted   city   to  a   high    state  of  efficiency.     He    had   gained   a 


296  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

world-wide  reputation  for  his  discoveries  of  electricity,  had  been  assistant 
postmaster-general  for  the  colonies,  and  during  the  trying  period  immedi- 
ately preceding  the  war  had  rendered  invaluable  service  to  the  colonies 
as  a  colonial  agent  in  London.  No  one  had  done  more  than  he  to  promote 
colonial  union,  and  when  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  drawn  up, 
he  was  one  of  those  selected  for  the  task.  His  appointment  to  France  was 
wise  beyond  expectation,  for  no  one  could  have  foreseen  that  his  services 
to  America  in  the  next  six  years  would  be  the  most  valuable  of  his  remark- 
able career.  —  History  of  the  United  States,  Ashley. 

In  each  selection  : 

1 .  Quote  the  words  which  introduce  the  subject,  define  its  scope,  and 
suggest  in  a  general  way  the  point  to  be  made  by  the  exposition. 

2.  Enumerate  the  main  details  by  which  the  subject  is  developed. 

3.  Show  in  what  way  the  final  statement  is  a  true  conclusion. 

4.  Show  that  the  details  are  of  the  nature  to  give  extent  of  information. 

5.  Show  that  the  order  in  which  the  details  are  presented  helps  to  give 
a  clear  understanding  of  the  subject. 

6.  Quote  the  words  which  convey  the  thought  with  the  greatest  degree 
of  clearness  and  of  accuracy. 

THEME  IV 

1.  Write  an  exposition  setting  forth  the  habits  of  some  class  of  animals 
with  which  you  are  familiar. 

2.  Write  an  exposition  setting  forth  the  requirements  as  to  good  be- 
havior in  public. 

3.  Write  an  exposition  setting  forth  the  advantages  of  one  of  the  various 
kinds  of  outdoor  sports. 

4.  Write  an  exposition  setting  forth  the  value  to  your  community  of 
some  public-spirited  citizen. 

In  each  of  your  compositions  : 

a.  What  are  the  words  which  introduce  the  subject  and  indicate  the 

point  to  be  made  ? 

b.  What  does  each  detail  contribute  to  making  the  point  clear  ? 

c.  In  what  way  does  the  order  in  which  you  present  details  help  to 

give  a  clear  understanding  of  the  subject  ? 

5.  Exchange  any  one  of  your  themes  with  a  classmate. 

6.  Criticize  the  theme  given  to  you  to  see  that  it  begins  by  introducing 


i:xposrnox  297 

the  subject  and  suggesting  the  point  to  be  made,  that  each  additional  de- 
tail helps  to  make  the  point  clear,  that  the  details  are  arranged  in  the  order 
best  suited  to  bring  out  the  point,  that  the  final  statement  is  a  true  con- 
clusion, that  the  words  give  clearness  and  vividness  to  the  point. 

7.  Examine  the  theme  for  errors  in  grammar,  punctuation,  or  spelling. 

8.  Return  the  theme  to  the  writer  for  correction. 

9.  Examine  the  rewritten  theme  and  note  the  improvements. 
ID.    Rewrite  your  own  theme,  making  the  corrections  suggested. 

a.    What  improvement  does  your  classmate  think  you  have  made? 

The  Interpretation  or  the  Application  of  a  Proverb  or 
an  Adage.  —  Very  often,  as  in  the  following  example,  an 
exposition  of  opinions  is  given  under  the  guise  of  an  inter- 
pretation or  an  application  of  a  proverb  or  of  an  adage,  the 
truth  of  which  is  accepted  by  the  world  in  general. 

In  the  first  Place,  as  an  Oti7ice  of  Preventio7i  is  worth  a  Pound  of  Cure 
I  would  advise  'em  to  take  Care  how  they  suffer  living  Brandsends,  or  Coals 
in  a  full  Shovel,  to  be  carried  out  of  one  Room  into  another,  or  up  or  down 
Stairs,  unless  in  a  Warmingpan  shut  ;  for  Scraps  of  Fire  may  fall  into 
chinks,  and  make  no  Appearance  till  Midnight  ;  when  your  Stairs  being  in 
Flames,  you  may  be  forced,  (as  I  once  was)  to  leap  out  of  your  Windows, 
and  hazard  your  Necks  to  avoid  being  over-roasted. 

And  now  we  talk  of  Prevention,  where  would  be  the  Damage,  if,  to  the 
Act  for  preventing  Fires,  by  regulating  Bakehouses  and  Coopers'  Shops,  a 
Clause  were  added  to  regulate  all  other  Houses  in  the  particulars  of  too 
shallow  Hearths,  and  the  detestable  Practice  of  putting  Wooden  Mouldings 
on  each  side  of  the  Fire  Place,  which  being  commonly  of  Heart-of-Pine 
and  full  of  Turpentine,  stand  ready  to  flame  as  soon  as  a  Coal  or  a  small 
Brand  shall  roll  against  them. 

—  Protection  of  Towns  from  Fire^  Franklin. 

In  using  a  proverb  or  an  adage  to  give  point  to  a  set  of 
opinions,  choose  the  proverb  or  adage  that  applies  exactly. 

THEME   V 

Write  a  composition  on  each  of  the  following  topics,  giving  point  to 
each  theme  by  means  of  that  one -of  the  subjoined  adages  or  proverbs 
which  applies  exactly : 


298  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

Topics 

a.  Extravagant  economies. 

b.  Spendthrift  habits. 

c.  The  wisdom  of  saving. 

d.  Obeying  speed  limitations. 

e.  Foresight. 

f.  Choosing  an  ambition. 

g.  Recognizing  opportunity. 
h.    Pioneering. 

i.    Motoring. 
j.    Discoveries. 

Proverbs  or  Adages 

a.  Make  hay  while  the  sun  shines. 

b.  Hitch  your  wagon  to  a  star. 

c.  Where  there's  a  will,  there's  a  wav. 

d.  Haste  makes  waste. 

e.  Time  is  money. 

f.  Don't  count  your  chickens  till  the  eggs  are  hatched. 

g.  Variety  is  the  spice  of  life. 
//.    Penny  wise,  pound  foolish. 

/.    The  early  bird  catches  the  worm. 
j.   Trade  follows  the  flag. 

THEME   VI 

By  means  of  each  of  the  following  proverbs  or  adages,  give  point  to 
any  body  of  opinions  that  you  choose  : 

a.  Make  haste  slowly. 

b.  Great  cry,  little  wool. 

c.  Brevity  is  the  soul  of  wit. 

d.  A  bird  in  the  hand  is  worth  two  in  the  bush. 

e.  Little  venture,  little  have. 

f.  Put  your  best  foot  forward. 

g.  The  mountain  labored  and  a  mouse  came  forth. 
h.    What's  bred  in  the  bone  comes  out  in  the  flesh. 

i.  All  work  and  no  play  makes  Jack  a  dull  boy. 

j.  Faraway  fields  are  always  green. 

k.  Necessity  is  the  mother  of  invention. 

/.  The  borrower  is  servant  to  the  lender. 


EXPOSITION  299 

m.  A  good  name  is  rather  to  be  chosen  than  great  riches. 

n.  Sour  grapes  hang  high. 

0.  He  who  will  not  when  he  may,  may  live  to  want  another  day. 
p.  Be  not  wise  in  your  own  conceits. 

Logical  Definition.  —  The  most  exact  form  of  exposition  is 
logical  definition ;  i.e.,  the  setting  forth  of  the  essential  char- 
acteristics of  an  object  by  placing  it  in  its  proper  class  and 
pointing  out  the  characteristics  which  distinguish  it  from  all 
other  kinds  of  objects  belonging  to  the  same  class. 

Read  the  following  logical  definitions  : 

1.  A  privateer  is  a  ship,  owned  by  a  private  citizen  or  by  private  citi- 
zens, to  which  authority  is  given  by  the  government  to  act  as  an  independ- 
ent war  vessel. 

2.  A  torpedo  boat  Is  a  vessel  fitted  for  operating  projectiles  that  carry 
a  powerful  detonating  charge  under  water  to  a  hostile  vessel. 

3.  Mortar  is  a  slaked  lime  mixed  with  water  and  three  or  four  times  its 
bulk  of  sand. 

4.  A  thermometer  is  an  instrument  which  records  temperature. 

5.  Suffering  is  a  state  of  pain  or  anguish  of  body  or  of  mind. 

6.  Comfort  is  a  state  of  ease  and  satisfaction  of  body  and  of  mind. 

In  the  first  logical  definition,  privateer  is  the  term  to  be 
defined ;  the  word  sJiip  names  the  next  larger  class  of  objects 
to  which  the  privateer  belongs ;  and  the  group  of  words, 
oivned  by  a  private  citizett  or  by  private  citizens,  to  which 
authority  is  given  by  the  government  to  act  as  an  independent 
war  vessel,  give  the  characteristics  that  distinguish  the  priva- 
teer from  all  other  kinds  of  ships. 

In  the  second  logical  definition,  torpedo  boat  is  the  term  to 
be  defined ;  the  word  vessel  names  the  next  larger  class  of 
objects  to  which  the  torpedo  boat  belongs;  and  the  group  of 
words,  fitted  for  operating  projectiles  that  carry  a  powerful 
detonating  charge  under  water  to  a  hostile  vessel,  give  the 
characteristics  that  distinguish  the  torpedo  boat  from  all  other 
kinds  of  vessels. 


300  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

In  the  third  logical  definition,  mortar  is  the  term  to  be 
defined  ;  the  word  lijue  names  the  next  larger  class  of  sub- 
stances to  which  mortar  belongs ;  and  the  group  of  words, 
slaked  lime  mixed  with  water  and  three  or  four  times  its  bulk 
of  sand,  give  the  characteristics  that  distinguish  mortar  from 
all  other  kinds  of  lime. 

In  the  fourth  logical  definition,  thermometer  is  the  term  to 
be  defined ;  the  word  instriimejit  names  the  next  larger  class 
of  objects  to  which  the  thermometer  belongs  ;  and  the  group 
of  words,  wJiich  records  temperature,  give  the  characteristic 
that  distinguishes  the  thermometer  from  all  other  kinds  of 
instruments. 

In  the  fifth  logical  definition,  sjifferiyig  is  the  term  to  be 
defined ;  the  word  state  names  the  next  larger  class  of  ideas 
to  which  suffering  belongs  ;  and  the  group  of  words,  of  pain 
or  anguish  of  body  or  of  mijid,  give  the  characteristics  that 
distinguish  suffering  from  all  other  kinds  of  states. 

In  the  sixth  logical  definition,  comfort  is  the  term  to  be 
defined ;  the  word  state  names  the  next  larger  class  of  ideas 
to  which  comfort  belongs ;  and  the  group  of  words,  of  ease 
and  satisfaction  of  body  and  of  mind,  give  the  characteristics 
which  distinguish  comfort  from  all  other  kinds  of  states. 

The  Elements  of  a  Logical  Definition.  —  Each  of  the  logical 
definitions  is  a  combination  of  three  elements :  ( i )  the  name 
of  a  kind  of  object  to  be  defined ;  i.e.,  the  name  of  a  species  ; 
(2)  the  name  of  a  larger  class  of  objects  to  which  the  kind 
of  object  to  be  defined  belongs ;  i.e.,  the  name  of  a  genus  ; 
and  (3)  a  group  of  words  which  give  the  characteristics  that 
distinguish  the  kind  of  object  to  be  defined  from  all  other 
kinds  of  objects  belonging  to  the  same  class ;  i.e.,  a  group 
of  words  which  give  the  differentia. 

Each  of  the  logical  definitions  is  a  statement  that  the  group 
of  characteristics  suggested  by  the  name  of  the  species  is  the 


< 


EXPOSITION  301 

same  group  of  characteristics  as  that  suggested  by  the  name 
of  the  genus  and  the  words  that  give  the  differentia. 

Logical  definition,  then,  is  a  statement  which  determines  a 
species  by  giving  the  genus  to  which  it  belongs  and  the  char- 
acteristics which  distinguish  it  from  all  other  species  of  the 
genus. 

SUMMARY  III 

Logical  definition  is  exposition  which  determines  a  species  by  stating 
the  genus  to  which  it  belongs  and  the  characteristi.s  which  form  its 
differentia. 

A  genus  consists  of  the  characteristics  common  to  two  or  more  groups 
of  objects  which  have  in  addition  certain  distinctive  group  characteristics. 

A  species  consists  of  the  characteristics  of  the  genus  to  which  it  be- 
longs and  the  characterisics  which  distinguish  it  from  all  other  groups 
of  objects  belonging  to  the  same  genus. 

The  differentia  consists  of  the  characteristics  that  distinguish  a  species 
from  all  other  species  belonging  to  the  same  genus. 

EXERCISE  V 

Study  the  following  logical  definitions  : 

1.  History  is  the  prose  narrative  of  past  events  as  true  as  the  fallibility 
of  human  testimony  will  allow. 

2.  Crown  glass  is  a  colorless  window  glass  used  for  convex  lenses. 

3.  A  rectangle  is  a  right-angled  parallelogram. 

4.  A  turnpike  was  a  road  on  which  were  tollgates. 

5.  A  canal  is  an  artificial  waterway. 

6.  A  church  is  a  building  dedicated  to  Christian  worship. 

7.  Soda  water  is  pure  water  charged  with  carbonic  acid  gas. 

8.  Food  is  any  substance  that,  being  taken  into  the  body  of  animal  or 
plant,  serves,  through  organic  action,  to  build  up  normal  structure  or  supply 
the  waste  of  tissue. 

9.  A  civil  law  is  a  rule  of  action  by  which  a  community  is  governed. 

10.  A  lie  is  a  statement  made  or  an  act  performed  with  the  intent  to 
deceive. 

1 1 .  Virtue  is  a  state  of  right-mindedness. 

In  each  logical  definition,  quote:  (i)  the  word  that  names  the  species; 
(2)  the  word  that  names  the  genus ;  and  (3)  the  words  that  give  the 
differentia. 


302  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

THEME   VII 

I.  Write  a  logical  definition  of  each  of  the  following  terms:  hammer, 
sled,  clay,  form,  carpet,  obstinacy,  perseverance. 

In  each  of  your  logical  definitions  : 

a.  Quote  (i)  the  word  that  names  the  species;  (2)  the  word  that 
names  the  genus ;  and  (3)  the  words  that  give  the  differentia. 

b.  Show  that  the  group  of  characteristics  suggested  by  the  word  that 
names  the  species  is  the  same  group  of  characteristics  as  that  suggested 
by  the  words  which  give  the  genus  and  the  differentia. 

Description  and  Narration  in  the  Service  of  Exposition.  —  In 

exposition  of  any  length,  it  often  happens  that  some  of  the 
details  used  in  developing  the  thought  are  in  themselves 
description  or  narration. 

Read  the  following  exposition  : 

After  I  had  spent  my  morning  over  this  picture  {representing  the  dream 
of  a  young  princess),  I  had  to  go  to  Verona  by  the  afternoon  train.  In 
the  carriage  with  me  were  two  American  girls  with  their  father  and  mother, 
people  of  the  class  which  has  lately  made  so  much  money  suddenly,  and 
does  not  know  what  to  do  with  it ;  and  these  two  girls,  of  about  fifteen  and 
eighteen,  had  evidently  been  indulged  in  everything  (since  they  had  had 
the  means)  which  western  civilization  could  imagine.  And  they  were 
specimens  of  the  utmost  which  the  money  and  invention  of  the  nineteenth 
century  could  produce  in  maidenhood.  —  children  of  its  most  progressive 
race,  —  enjoying  the  full  advantages  of  political  liberty,  of  enlightened  philo- 
sophical education,  of  cheap  pilfered  literature,  and  of  luxury  at  any  cost. 
Whatever  money,  machinery,  or  freedom  of  thought  could  do  for  these  two 
children  had  been  done.  No  superstition  had  deceived,  no  restraint  de- 
graded them :  —  types  they  could  not  but  be  of  maidenly  wisdom  and  felicity, 
as  conceived  by  the  forwardest  intellects  of  our  time. 

And  they  were  traveling  through  a  district  which,  if  any  in  the  world, 
should  touch  the  hearts  and  delight  the  eyes  of  young  girls.  Between 
Venice  and  Verona !  Portia's  villa  perhaps  in  sight  upon  the  Brenta, — 
Juliet's  tomb  to  be  visited  in  the  evening,  —  blue  against  the  southern  sky, 
the  hills  of  Petrarch's  home.  Exquisite  midsummer  sunshine,  with  low 
rays,  glanced  through  the  vine  leaves  ;  all  the  Alps  were  clear,  from  the 
lake  of  Garda  to  Cadore  and  to  farthest  Tyrol.     What  a  princess's  cham- 


EXPOSITION 


303 


ber,  this,  if  these  are  princesses,  and  what  dreams  might  they  not  dream 
therein ! 

But  the  two  American  girls  were  neither  princesses,  nor  seers,  nor 
dreamers.  By  infinite  self-indulgence,  they  had  reduced  themselves  sim- 
ply to  two  pieces  of  white  putty  that  could  feel  pain.  The  flies  and  the 
dust  stuck  to  them  as  to  clay,  and  they  perceived,  between  Venice  and 
Verona,  nothing  but  the  flies  and  the  dust.  They  pulled  down  the  blinds 
the  moment  they  entered  the  carriage,  and  then  sprawled  and  writhed  and 
tossed  among  the  cushions  of  it,  in  vain  contest,  during  the  whole  fifty 
miles,  with  every  miserable  sensation  of  bodily  affliction  that  could  make 
time  intolerable.  They  were  dressed  in  thin  white  frocks,  coming  vaguely 
open  at  the  backs  as  they  stretched  or  wiggled ;  they  had  French  novels, 
lemons,  and  lumps  of  sugar  to  beguile  their  state  with  ;  the  novels  hang- 
ing together  by  the  ends  of  string  that  had  once  stitched  them,  or  adher- 
ing at  the  corners  in  densely  bruised  dog's-ears,  out  of  which  the  girls, 
wetting  their  fingers,  occasionally  extricated  a  gluey  leaf.  From  time  to 
time  they  cut  a  lemon  open,  ground  a  lump  of  sugar  backwards  and  for- 
wards over  it  till  every  fiber  was  in  a  treacly  pulp,  then  sucked  the  pulp, 
and  gnawed  the  white  skin  into  leathery  strings,  for  the  sake  of  its  bitter. 
Only  one  sentence  was  exchanged,  in  the  fifty  miles,  on  the  subject  of 
things  outside  the  carriage  (the  Alps  being  once  visible  from  a  station 
where  they  had  drawn  up  the  blinds). 

"  DonH  those  snow-caps  make  you  cool  ?" 

"No  — I  wish  they  did." 

And  so  they  went  their  way,  with  sealed  eyes  and  tormented  limbs, 
their  numbered  miles  of  pain.  —  Fors  Clavigera,  Ruskin. 

1.  State  the  point  of  the  exposition. 

2.  Quote  the  details  that  are  in  themselves  description  or  narration. 

3.  Show  what  each  of  these  details  contributes  toward  making  the 
point  of  the  exposition  clear. 

SUMMARY  IV 
To  write  exposition : 
I.   Select  proper  material. 

1.  Choose  a  subject  about  which  you  have  considerable  definite 

knowledge. 

2.  Decide  upon  the  person  or  persons  whom  you  intend  to  address. 

3.  Choose  the   details  essential  to  the  giving    to   the  person   or 

persons  addressed  a  clear  and  accurate  understanding  of  the 
subject. 


304  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

a.  Remember  that  these  may  be : 
(i)  The  more  minute  details. 

(2)  Details  which  give  specific  instances. 

(3)  Details  which  point  out  resemblances  or  differences, 

(4)  Details  which  repeat  ideas. 

(5)  Details  which  tell  what  a  thing  is  not  and  then  what  it  is. 

(6)  Details  which  set  forth  the  relation  of  cause  and  effect. 

II.  Arrange  material  in  the  most  effective  order. 

1.  Arrange  the  steps  of   a  process  in  the  order  in  which  they  must 

be  performed. 

2.  Arrange  the  details  of  a  characterization  according  to  some  defi- 

nite plan.  For  example : 
a.  Arrange  details  giving  characteristics:  (i)  in  the  order  in 
which  the  characteristics  developed;  (2)  in  the  order  in 
which  the  characteristics  would  become  known  to  a  person 
studying  the  original;  or  (3)  in  the  order  of  increasing 
importance. 

3.  Arrange  the  details  of  compiled  information  or  of  a  body  of  opin- 

ions in  the  order  which  the  subject  demands. 

III.  Express  ideas  in  language  suited  to  the  subject  and  adapted  to  the 

person  or  persons  addressed. 

1.  Choose  words  that  state  exactly  or  suggest  vividly  the  idea  to  be 

expressed. 

2.  Choose  words  sure  to  be  imderstood  by  the  person  or  persons 

addressed. 

3.  Remember  that  apt   comparisons  and  appropriate  figures  of 

speech  give  force  and  vitality  to  expression. 

IV.  Criticize  your  work. 

1.   Examine  your  work  to  see : 

a.  That  the  first  statement  of  your    exposition   indicates  the 

subject,  defines  its  scope,  and  suggests  the  point  to  be  made 
by  the  exposition. 

b.  That  you  have  used  no  detail  that  does  not  bear  upon  the 

point  or  that  is  not  essential  to  the  point. 

c.  That  you  have  arranged  details  in  the  order  best  suited  to 

give  to  the  person  or  persons  addressed  a  clear  and  exact 
understanding  of  the  subject. 

d.  That  the  final  statement  of  your  exposition  is  a  summary  of 

the  details  used. 

e.  That  the  words  which  you  have  used  are  words  in  keeping  with 

the  subject  and  adapted  to  the  persons  addressed. 


EXPOSITION  305 

V.   Review  your  work. 

1.   Examine  your  work  to  see  : 

a.  That  each  sentence  is  grammatical. 

b.  That  each  sentence  is  accurately  punctuated. 

c.  That  each  word  is  correctly  spelled. 

ADDITIONAL   SUBJECTS   FOR   ORAL   OR   WRITTEN   EXPOSITION 

1.  The  Function  of  the  Telephone. 

2.  The  New  Football  Rules. 

3.  The  Submarine. 

4.  Color  Photography. 

5.  Our  Flag:  What  it  Means. 

6.  The  Bread-mixer. 

7.  The  Value  of  State  Roads. 

8.  Government  Ownership. 

9.  A  Usehil  Mechanical  Contrivance. 

10.  A  soft  answer  turneth  away  wrath. 

11.  The  Duties  of  a  District  Nurse. 

12.  The  Benefits  of  Long  Walks. 

13.  Great  oaks  from  little  acorns  grow. 

14.  The  Manufacture  of  Paper  Money. 

15.  Farming  without  Horses. 

16.  Making  Maple  Sugar. 

17.  Silence  is  Golden. 

18.  The  Reflecting  Telescope. 

19.  How  Powder  is  Manufactured. 

20.  Every  tub  must  stand  on  its  own  bottom. 

21.  House-moving. 

22.  A  rolling  stone  gathers  no  moss. 

23.  Breaking-in  Horses. 

24.  Silk-weaving. 

25.  A  Popular  Candidate. 

26.  Instinct. 

27.  Save  the  pennies  and  the  dollars  will  take  care  of  themselves 

28.  The  Economic  Value  of  the  Panama  Canal. 

29.  The  Place  of  Social  Life  in  High  Schools. 

30.  The  Preparation  of  Wool  for  the  Market. 

31.  My  Pet  Fad. 

32.  The  Avocations  of  High  School  Students. 


3o6  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

33.  He  laughs  best  who  laughs  last. 

34.  Undeveloped  Resources  of  the  United  States. 

35.  Patient  waiters  are  no  losers. 

36.  It  is  hard  for  an  empty  sack  to  stand  upright. 
yj.  Running  a  Sawmill. 

38.  Cleanliness  is  next  to  godliness. 

39.  Textile  Manufactures. 

40.  Practical  Management. 


CHAPTER   XI 

ARGUMENT  AND  PERSUASION 

When,  in  addition  to  explaining  the  meaning  of  a  proposi- 
tion, a  composition  aims  to  use  the  proposition  to  alter  the 
opinions,  the  beliefs,  or  the  course  of  conduct  of  the  person  or 
persons  addressed,  it  must  take  the  form  of  argument  or  of 
persuasion  or  of  a  combination  of  both. 

Argument.  —  Argument  is  the  kind  of  speech  or  of  writing 
which  aims  to  establish  the  truth  or  the  falsity  of  a  proposi- 
tion. The  purpose  of  argument  is  to  present  demonstrable 
facts  or  accepted  beliefs  or  judgments  in  such  a  way  as  to 
win  the  person  or  persons  addressed  to  the  point  of  view  of 
the  speaker  or  writer. 

Like  exposition,  argument  of  itself  appeals  purely  to  the 
understanding.  Unlike  exposition,  argument  deals  only  with 
propositions,  never  with  terms. 

Whatever  may  be  the  basis  of  discussion  for  or  agamst 
a  proposition  is  material  for  argument.  The  material  com- 
monly used  consists  of  opinions  or  beliefs,  judgments,  prin- 
ciples, and  demonstrable  facts. 

Opinion  and  Fact. --To  be  trustworthy,  opinion  must  coin- 
cide with  fact.  Too  frequently,  however,  opinion  not  only 
fails  to  coincide  with  fact,  but  even  contradicts  fact.  For 
example,  A  glances  out  of  the  window  and  sees  a  person 
whom  he  takes  for  his  friend  B  disappearing  around  the 
corner  of  the  first  cross  street.  The  person  is  of  B's  height 
and  general  appearance,  walks  like  B,  apparently  is  B.  In 
the  course  of  a  day  or  two,  it  develops  that  ^  is  in  a  distant 

307 


3o8  PRACTICAL   KXCiLISH   COMPOSITION 

city,  where  he  has  been  for  a  month,  and  so  could  not  have 
been  seen  by  A  at  the  time  and  in  the  place  where  A  thought 
he  saw  B.  In  other  words,  As  opinion  that  he  saw  B  was 
contrary  to  fact.  An  opinion  that  is  not  substantiated  by 
fact  is,  of  course,  valueless  as  argument. 

Evidence. — Whatever  tends  to  establish  the  truth  or  the 
falsity  of  a  proposition  is  evidence. 

Evidence  must  be  either  testimonial  or  circumstantial. 
Testimonial  evidence,  or  testimony,  consists  of  the  sworn 
statements  of  witnesses.  The  value  of  testimony  necessarily 
varies  according  to  the  character  and  the  intellectual  equip- 
ment of  the  witness,  for  people  differ  in  truthfulness  and  in 
the  power  to  observe  accurately,  to  remember  correctly,  and 
to  tell  exactly  what  they  have  observed. 

The  strongest  kind  of  testimony  is  that  of  a  truthful,  accu- 
rate witness  who  testifies  to  what  he  has  himself  observed. 
Other  varieties  of  testimony  of  greater  or  less  value  are  ex- 
pert testimony,  authority,  unwilling  testimony,  the  testimony 
of  silence,  incidental  testimony,  and  undesigned  testimony. 

Expert  Testimony.  —  Expert  testimony  is  the  opinion  of  a 
person  of  recognized  standing  in  his  profession  upon  a  mat- 
ter about  which  his  professional  knowledge  makes  him  com- 
petent to  form  an  accurate  judgment. 

The  practical  vakie  of  expert  testimony  depends  entirely 
upon  the  professional  standing  of  the  expert.  It  may  be 
considered  worthless  by  the  people  to  whom  it  is  addressed 
or  it  may  have  the  weight  of  authority. 

Authority.  —  Authority  is  expert  opinion  or  decision  that 
is  generally  accepted.  So  long  as  the  conditions  which  give 
rise  to  it  exist,  authority  is  absolute. 

Unwilling  Testimony.  —  Unwilling  testimony  is  testimony 
given  against  one's  preferences.  For  example,  a  man  who 
knows  that  the  testimony  he  is  giving  must  damage  a  person 


ARGUMENT   AND    PERSUASION  309 

or  a  cause  dear  to  him  gives  unwilling  testimony.  The  value 
of  unwilling  testimony  is  exceedingly  great. 

The  Testimony  of  Silence.  —  The  testimony  of  silence  is  the 
recognized  failure  to  mention  what  naturally  would  be  men- 
tioned if  it  existed.  For  example,  if  it  is  the  custom  of  a 
university  to  post  the  names  of  students  who  have  passed 
examinations  successfully,  the  omission  of  a  name  is  evi- 
dence that  the  person  in  question  failed  to  pass.  The  value 
of  the  testimony  of  silence  is  at  times  very  great. 

Incidental  Testimony.  —  Incidental  testimony  is  the  casual 
mention  of  a  detail  which  throws  light  upon  a  matter  not 
immediately  under  discussion.  For  example,  A  is  telling  B 
about  a  shopping  trip,  and  casually  mentions  that  she  saw  C 
on  the  car.  B,  who  has  business  to  transact  with  C,  but  who 
has  supposed  C  out  of  town,  incidentally  gets  information 
of  business  value.  The  value  of  incidental  testimony  de- 
pends upon  circumstances. 

Undesigned  Testimony.  —  Undesigned  testimony  is  the  un- 
intentional admission  of  a  circumstance  which  one  has  meant 
to  keep  secret.  For  example,  a  small  boy  in  making  book- 
shelves injures  a  plane  which  he  has  been  forbidden  to  use. 
When  asked  if  he  has  used  it,  he  denies  having  touched  it. 
Some  weeks  later,  when  his  work  is  praised  by  a  visitor,  he 
remarks  to  his  father,  "  It  was  very  hard  to  get  the  shelves 
so  smooth  —  even  with  your  best  plane."  His  last  words 
are  undesigned  testimony  to  the  fact  that  he  had  used  the 
plane.  The  value  of  undesigned  testimony  can  hardly  be 
overestimated. 

EXERCISE  I 

I.  a.  Name  four  people  who  at  present  are  accepted  as  authority  in 
engineering  problems,  in  interpretation  of  law,  in  surgery,  in  forestry,  or 
m  finance. 

/^.    Cite  instance's  in  which  they  have  given  expert  testimony. 


3IO  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

2.  Give  two  illustrations  of  unwilling  testimony  of  which  you  have 
personal  knowledge. 

3.  Cite  two  cases  each  of  the  testimony  of  silence,  incidental  testimony, 
and  undesigned  testimony. 

Circumstantial  Evidence.  —  Circumstantial  evidence  is  evi- 
dence that  tends  to  prove  a  fact  by  proving  other  events  or 
circumstances  which  are  usually  or  always  attended  by  the 
fact  in  question. 

Circumstantial  evidence  comprises  such  things  as  objects, 
events,  appearances,  etc. ;  in  fact,  it  comprises  everything 
except  the  sworn  statements  of  witnesses.  For  example,  A 
sees  a  man's  footprints  on  the  snow,  leading  from  the  high- 
way across  the  fields  to  a  house  in  a  lane.  The  footprints 
are  circumstantial  evidence  that  some  one  wearing  a  man's 
boots  passed  from  the  highway  across  the  fields  to  the  house 
in  question.  As  sworn  statement  in  court  that  he  saw  the 
footprints  is  testimonial  evidence,  or  testimony. 

Evidence,  Direct  or  Indirect.  —  Testimonial  and  circum- 
stantial evidence  may  be  either  direct  or  indirect.  Direct 
evidence  is  evidence  which  bears  directly  upon  the  point  at 
issue.  A  man  who  sees  a  pickpocket  snatch  a  watch  and 
testifies  to  that  effect  in  court  gives  direct  testimonial 
evidence.  A  cream  jug  tipped  over  and  a  cat's  creamy 
footprints  on  the  table,  the  floor,  and  the  porch  are  direct 
circumstantial  evidence  that  a  cat  has  been  at  the  cream. 
A  noise  of  breaking  glass,  a  shattered  windowpane,  and  a 
stone  rolling  on  the  library  floor  are  direct  circumstantial 
evidence  that  some  one  has  thrown  a  stone  which  has  broken 
the  library  window. 

Indirect  evidence  is  evidence  which  establishes  a  fact  from 
which  an  inference  is  to  be  drawn  concerning  the  point  at 
issue.  For  example,  A  is  accused  of  a  burglary  committed 
in  X on  Oct.  15.     Witnesses  testify  conclusively  that  A 


ARGUMENT   AND    PERSUASION  311 

was  in  the  town  of  L from  the  evening  of  Oct.  14  to  the 

noon  of  Oct.  16.  The  inference  is  obvious.  A  could  not 
have  committed  the  burglary  in  X on  Oct.  15. 

This  particular  instance  illustrates  a  form  of  indirect 
argument  known  as  rediictio  ad  absiwdu^n,  a  reduction  to 
the  absurd,  because  it  proves  the  proposition,  "  A  is  innocent," 
by  showing  a  belief  in  A' s  guilt  to  be  absurd. 

A  bag  of  coin  is  kept  in  a  certain  bureau  drawer.  The 
owner  goes  to  the  drawer  for  money  and  finds  the  moneybag 
gone  and  a  pocketknife  which  belongs  to  a  servant  in  the 
drawer.  The  knife  is  direct  circumstantial  evidence  that 
some  one  dropped  it  into  the  drawer,  but  it  is  indirect 
circumstantial  evidence  when  applied  to  prove  that  the  owner 
of  the  knife  stole  the  bag  of  money  from  the  drawer.  If, 
when  the  servant  and  his  belongings  are  searched,  the  money 
is  found  in  his  possession,  the  indirect  circumstantial  evidence 
of  the  knife  has  gained  some  value,  but  even  then,  it  may  be 
misleading,  for  some  one  may  have  contrived  the  affair  out 
of  spite  to  ruin  the  servant. 

EXERCISE  II 

1.  Cite  a  case  of  circumstantial  evidence  which  caused  you  to  alter  one 
of  your  plans  during  the  last  month. 

2.  Cite  a  case  of  circumstantial  evidence  which  caused  you  to  form  an 
opinion  which  you  later  found  to  be  false. 

3.  a.    Quote  an  assertion  which  you  have  heard  a  friend  make  and  which 

you  know  to  be  based  on  incomplete  circumstantial  evidence. 
b.    By  completing  the  evidence,  show  wherein  the  assertion  is  false. 

4.  Cite  a  case  in  which  the  circumstantial  evidence  is  obviously  com- 
plete and  therefore  conclusive. 

a.   In  each  case   cited,  show   whether  the  circumstantial  evidence 
was  direct  or  indirect. 

Proof.  —  Evidence  which  is  convincing  is  proof.  Study 
the  evidence  in  the  following  selection  : 


312  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH    COMPOSITION 

She  was  set  up  so  high  on  the  rocks,  and  seemed  so  trim  looking  for  a 
wreck,  that  we  were  all  mad  to  go  aboard  her  at  once.  But  she  was  beset 
with  ice,  and  after  we  had  anchored  as  near  as  we  could  go,  it  took  our 
boats  a  long  time  to  get  alongside  her.  With  no  little  excitement  we 
climbed  her  sides.  Instead  of  the  confusion  that  a  hastily  abandoned 
wreck  would  suggest,  perfect  order  reigned  on  deck.  Hatches  were  not 
only  closed,  but  still  sealed.  Evidently  no  cargo  had  been  jettisoned  to 
lighten  the  ship.  Every  door  and  hatch  was  neatly  closed.  The  once 
broken  rudder  chain  had  been  neatly  repaired.  The  ends  of  such  ropes 
as  were  left  were  all  well  fastened  One  block  from  the  dismantled  running 
rigging  which  was  loose  on  deck,  was  carefully  marked  in  pencil  "  topgal- 
lant haulyard,"  as  if  some  lubber  who  did  not  know  how  to  reset  square 
rigging  had  marked  it,  with  the  intention  of  putting  it  in  the  right  place 
next  spring.  But,  oddest  of  all,  only  the  starboard  pump  was  in  working 
order,  and  the  brasswork  necessary  to  work  the  other  was  on  the  shelf  in 
the  roundhouse.  The  statement  that  the  ship  was  only  abandoned  to 
save  the  lives  of  the  crew  was  a  false  one.  —  Reported  Lost^  Grenfell. 

The  opening  sentences  present  details  which  "bring  into 
proper  relation  the  man,  the  subject,  and  the  occasion"  ;  i.e.^ 
they  indicate  the  investigators,  the  subject  to  be  investigated, 
and  the  motive  for  the  investigation.  The  adducing  of 
evidence  begins  in  the  fourth  sentence,  "  Instead  of  the  con- 
fusion that  a  hastily  abandoned  wreck  would  suggest,  perfect 
order  reigned  on  deck."  The  line  of  argument  to  be  used  is 
indicated  in  the  words,  *' perfect  order  reigned  on  deck." 
The  perfection  of  the  order  is  shown  in  six  pieces  of  direct 
evidence:  (i)  "hatches  were  not  only  closed,  but  still 
sealed;"   (2)  "every  door  and  hatch  was   neatly    closed;" 

(3)  "  the  once  broken  rudder  chain  had  been  neatly  repaired  ;  " 

(4)  "  the  ends  of  such  ropes  as  were  left  were  all  well 
fastened;"  (5)  "one  block  from  the  dismantled  running 
rigging,  which  was  loose  on  deck,  was  carefully  marked  in 
pencil,  *  topgallant  haulyard  ' ;  "  (6)  "  only  the  starboard 
pump  was  in  working  order,  and  the  brasswork  necessary  to 
work  the  other  was  on  the  shelf  in  the  roundhouse." 


ARGUMENT   AND    PERSUASION 


313 


In  addition  to  the  direct  evidence  there  are  two  inferences, 
the  first  drawn  from  the  sealed  hatches,  **  Evidently  no  cargo 
had  been  jettisoned  to  lighten  the  ship,"  the  second  drawn 
from  the  marked  block,  *'  as  if  some  lubber  who  did  not  know 
how  to  reset  square  rigging  had  marked  it  with  the  intention 
of  putting  it  in  the  right  place  next  spring." 

The  six  pieces  of  direct  evidence,  together  with  the  in- 
ferences drawn  from  two  of  them,  serve  to  bring  the  investi- 
gators to  the  decision  that  the  crew  did  not  abandon  the  ship 
to  save  their  lives.  In  other  words,  the  evidence,  strengthened 
by  the  inferences  drawn  from  it,  acts  as  proof  of  the  truth  of 
the  belief  "  The  statement  that  the  ship  was  only  abandoned 
to  save  the  lives  of  the  crew  was  a  false  one." 

Induction.  — When  certainty  as  to  the  truth  or  falsity  of  a 
belief  is  reached  by  putting  together  specific  facts  or  in- 
ferences which  serve  as  proof,  the  decision  reached  is  called 
a  conclusion,  and  the  method  of  reasoning  by  which  the  con- 
clusion is  reached  is  called  induction. 

A  conclusion  reached  by  induction  must  not  be  accepted  as 
final  unless  it  has  been  drawn  by  accurate  reasoning  from 
complete  evidence,  i.e.,  from  all  of  the  evidence  that  could 
bear  upon  the  matter  in  question. 

Fallacies  of  Induction.  —  Since  it  is  easy  to  reason  inaccu- 
rately and  since  it  is  practically  impossible  to  get  complete 
evidence  in  regard  to  many  matters  that  must  be  dealt  with, 
errors  in  inductive  reasoning,  in  other  words,  fallacies  of  in- 
duction, often  occur. 

Reasoning  from  too  Few  Instances.  —  In  reasoning  by  in- 
duction, a  common  fallacy  is  the  drawing  of  a  false  conclusion 
by  reasoning  from  too  few  instances.  For  example,  if  B 
meets  his  friend  A  on  the  street  and  does  not  bow  to  him,  A 
is  not  justified  in  concluding  that  B  meant  to  ignore  him. 
The  chances  are  that  B  did  not  see  him,  for,  even  though 


3H 


PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 


B  appeared  to  see  him,  it  is  probable  that  B  was  so  absorbed 
in  thought  as  not  to  notice  him.  If,  however,  B  meets  A 
five  times  in  one  week  and  each  time  fails  to  bow  to  him,  A 
is  justified  in  concluding  that  B  means  to  ignore  him,  for  it  is 
not  likely  that  a  person  will  come  within  bowing  distance  of 
a  friend  so  often  in  so  short  a  space  of  time  and  not  see  him 
once. 

Common  instances  of  this  fallacy  occur  through  the  failure 
to  investigate  fully  even  when  all  the  data  are  at  hand.  For 
example,  a  mother  told  her  little  boy,  who  was  in  the  habit 
of  taking  jam  from  the  pantry  whenever  the  desire  for  it 
seized  him,  that  the  next  time  he  took  jam  from  the  pantry 
without  permission,  she  should  punish  him.  Within  two 
days,  he  came  running  into  the  living  room  besmeared  with 
jam.  Thereupon,  without  investigating  the  matter  at  all,  his 
mother  whipped  him,  only  to  find  after  she  had  done  so  that 
the  child  had  not  been  near  the  pantry,  but  had  been  given 
jam  by  a  neighbor.  She  had  drawn  too  hasty  a  conclusion 
though  all  the  facts  were  quite  within  her  reach. 

Assuming  a  Cause  and  Effect  Relation  where  None  exists.  — 
Perhaps  the  most  common  fallacy  in  reasoning  by  induction 
is  the  assumption  of  a  cause  and  effect  relation  where  none 
exists. 

The  Non  Causa  Pro  Causa  Fallacy.  —  A  very  common  form 
of  this  fallacy  is  the  assuming  that  one  thing  is  the  cause  of 
another  although  no  causal  relation  exists  between  the  two. 
For  example,  a  man  suffering  from  rheumatism  carries  two 
horse-chestnuts  in  his  pocket,  and  presently  his  rheumatism 
disappears.  He  at  once  assumes  that  the  horse-chestnuts 
caused  the  cure  of  the  rheumatism.  His  error  in  reasoning 
consists  in  assuming  as  a  cause  a  thing  that  has  no  relation 
whatever  to  the  result  produced.  A  fallacy  of  this  sort,  i.e., 
the  assumption  that  one  circumstance  or  event  is  the  cause  of 


ARGUMENT   AND    PERSUASION  315 

another  when  no  causal  relation  exists  between  the  two,  is 
known' as  the  nofi  causa  pro  causa  fallacy. 

The  Post  Hoc  Propter  Hoc  Fallacy.  —  Another  form  of  the 
fallacy  of  assuming  a  cause  and  effect  relation  where  none 
exists,  consists  in  the  assumption  that  one  thing  is  the  effect 
of  another  in  no  way  related  to  it.  For  example,  as  A,  who 
has  just  entered  the  house,  approaches  the  open  door  of  B's 
room,  he  sees  the  door  close.  He  makes  the  inference  that 
B  has  shut  the  door  against  him,  when,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
the  door  has  been  closed  by  the  draught  from  an  open  window 
in  B's  room.  A's  error  in  reasoning  is  the  result  of  his 
thinking  that  because  the  door  closed  aftc}-  his  entrance,  it 
closed  becaiisc  of  his  entrance.  A  fallacy  of  this  sort,  i.e.^ 
the  assumption  that,  because  one  circumstance  or  event  fol- 
lows another,  it  is  the  effect  of  that  other,  is  known  as  the 
post  hoc  propter  hoc  fallacy. 

Reasoning  from  False  Inferences.  —  An  outgrowth  of  the 
fallacy  of  assuming  a  cause  and  effect  relation  where  none 
exists  is  the  drawing  of  a  false  conclusion  as  a  result  of  using 
illogical  inferences  as  if  they  were  facts.  For  example.  A, 
who  has  made  the  mistaken  inference  that  B  purposely  shut 
the  door  against  him,  reports  the  next  day  that  B  has  been 
so  rude  as  to  shut  the  door  in  his  face.  His  fallacy  in  this 
case  consists  in  drawing  the  false  conclusion  that  B  is  dis- 
courteous by  reasoning  from  an  incorrect  inference  as  if  it 
were  fact. 

Ignoring  Instances  that  point  to  a  Different  Conclusion.  — 
Another  fallacy  of  induction  consists  in  ignoring  instances 
which  point  to  a  different  conclusion  from  the  one  inferred. 
For  example,  the  fact  that  A,  who  seems  to  have  money, 
wears  inexpensive  clothes,  seldom  goes  driving,  never  treats 
his  acquaintances  to  large  amounts  of  candy,  soda,  and  ice 
cream,    does  not  in  itself  prove  A  stingy  or  mean.     He  may 


3i6  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

refrain  from  doing  all  of  these  things  because  his  parents  are 
denying  themselves  to  give  him  an  education,  and  he  feels  it 
wrong  to  waste  their  hard-earned  money  in  trivial  ways.  He 
may,  indeed,  be  returning  some  of  their  money  to  them  from 
time  to  time,  telling  them  that  he  does  not  need  it.  What 
looks  to  an  outsider  like  stinginess  is  really  self-restraint  and 
integrity. 

An  aggravated  form  of  this  fallacy  consists  in  accepting  as 
evidence  only  those  facts  which  support  an  opinion  already 
formed,  although  strong  contradictory  evidence  may  exist. 
For  example,  B  with  some  reason  has  made  up  his  mind  that 
A  is  inaccurate  and  extravagant  in  his  statements.  This 
opinion  becomes  so  firmly  fixed  in  his  mind  that  he  completely 
ignores  As  constant  efforts  to  become  exact  in  observation 
and  accurate  in  expression,  and  utterly  fails  to  comprehend 
the  change  that  finally  takes  place  in  A's  habits  of  thought 
and  of  speech.  He  sees  only  the  errors  and  inaccuracies  of 
which  A,  like  everyone  else,  is  occasionally  guilty,  and  these 
serve  to  strengthen  his  original  opinion  of  A.  He  is  guilty 
of  the  fallacy  of  ignoring  instances  that  point  to  a  different 
conclusion  from  the  one  originally  inferred. 

EXERCISE   III 

1.  State  five  inductions  which  you  have  made  within  a  week,  in  two  of 
which  your  conclusions  have  proved  incorrect. 

2.  Tell  from  how  many  and  what  instances  you  drew  your  conclusion  in 
each  case. 

3.  State  the  fallacy  in  each  of  the  incorrect  inductions. 

4.  Quote  a  case  in  which  you  have  known  a  person  to  draw  a  false  con- 
clusion because  he  misinterpreted  instances  of  which  you  and  he  had 
common  knowledge. 

Deduction.  — The  conclusion  reached  by  induction  is  often 
used  as  a  basis   from   which   to  reason.     For  example,    the 


ARGUMENT   AND    PERSUASION  317 

cloth  in  a  suit  does  not  shrink  when  exposed  to  rain.  The 
owner  of  the  suit  at  once  concludes  that  the  cloth  must  have 
been  previously  thoroughly  shrunk.  His  method  of  reasoning 
is  as  follows : 

Cloth  which  has  been  thoroughly  shrunk  shrinks  little,  if  any,  when 

exposed  to  rain  ; 
The  cloth  in  this  suit  shrinks  little,  if  any,  when  exposed  to  rain  ; 
Therefore,  the  cloth  in  this  suit  has  been  thoroughly  shrunk. 

In  this  argument,  the  first  statement,  "  Cloth  which  has 
been  thoroughly  shrunk  shrinks  little,  if  any,  when  exposed 
to  rain,"  is  itself  a  conclusion  reached  by  reasoning  from 
hundreds  of  instances  in  which  cloth  that  has  been  thoroughly 
shrunk  has  shrunk  little,  if  any,  when  exposed  to  rain. 
Such  a  conclusion,  because  it  asserts  of  an  entire  class  what 
is  true  of  a  body  of  individuals  belonging  to  the  class,  is  called 
a  generalization.  The  second  statement,  "  The  cloth  in  this 
suit  shrinks  little,  if  any,  when  exposed  to  rain,"  asserts  of  an 
individual /zV^^  ^^/^/Z;  the  truth  asserted  of  the  c\a.ss,  c/ot/i 
tJiat  has  been  thoroiigJiIy  shrunk.  The  third  statement  gives 
the  conclusion  drawn  from  the  first  two  statements ;  viz., 
that  since  the  same  thing  that  is  true  of  a  class,  shrinks  little, 
if  any,  when  exposed  to  rain,  is  true  of  an  individual,  the  in- 
dividual must  belong  to  the  class  in  question  ;  i.e.,  the  cloth 
in  this  suit  must  be  cloth  that  has  been  thoroughly  shrunk. 

Definition.  —  When  conviction  as  to  the  truth  or  the  falsity 
of  a  belief  is  reached  by  reasoning  from  a  generalization  to 
a  specific  case,  the  method  of  reasoning  is  called  deduction. 

The  form  that  the  argument  takes  is  called  a  syllogism. 

Sometimes  the  argument  by  syllogism  works  in  a  sHghtly 
different  way.     For  example,  in  the  syllogism, 

All  men  must  die ; 
/4  is  a  man; 
Therefore,  A  must  die, 


3i8  PkACTICAL  f:XGLISII   COiM POSITION 

the  generalization,  "All  men  must  die,"  asserts  something 
of  the  class,  men;  the  second  statement,  ''A  is  a  man," 
asserts  of  an  individual,  A,  that  he  belongs  to  the  class,  men  ; 
the  third  statement  gives  the  conclusion  drawn  from  the  two 
statements,  namely,  that  what  is  true  of  a  class  is  true  of  each 
individual  belonging  to  it,  i.t\,  that  A  must  die. 

The  Syllogism.  —  A  syllogism,  then,  consists  of  three  parts  : 
(i)  a  generalization,  or  major  premise ;  (2)  a  second  state- 
ment, or  minor  premise ;  (3)  a  third  statement,  which  is  de- 
duced from  the  first  two  statements,  i.e.,  a  conclusion. 

The  major  premise  asserts  something  of  a  class. 

The  minor  premise  asserts  one  of  two  things :  either 
(a)  that  the  thing  asserted  of  a  class  in  the  major  premise  is 
true  of  an  individual  named  in  the  minor  premise,  or,  {b)  that 
an  individual  belongs  to  the  class  concerning  which  something 
is  asserted  in  the  major  premise. 

The  conclusion,  in  turn,  asserts  one  of  two  things  :  either 
{a)  that  the  individual  named  in  the  minor  premise  belongs 
to  the  class  concerning  which  something  is  asserted  in  the 
major  premise,  or  {b)  that  the  thing  asserted  of  a  class  in  the 
major  premise  must  be  true  of  the  individual  mentioned  in 
the  minor  premise  as  belonging  to  that  class. 

The  Abbreviated  Syllogism,  or  Enthymeme.  —  Reasoning  by 
deduction  is  quite  as  common  in  everyday  Hfe  as  is  reasoning 
by  induction,  though  it  often  happens  that  one  part  of  the 
syllogism  is  not  stated.  For  example,  such  expressions  as, 
"You  will  get  burned  if  you  touch  the  stove,"  or  "The  sky 
looks  like  rain,"  are  really  abbreviated  forms  of  syllogisms; 
i.e.y  they  are  enthymemes.     The  entire  syllogisms  follow: 

{a)         Major  premise  :  Hot  stoves  will  burn  you  ; 

Minor  premise  :  this  stove  is  a  hot  stove ; 

Conclusion  :  therefore,  this  stove  will  burn  you. 

{b)  Major  premise  :  A  dull,  t!;ray  sky  is  a  sign  of  rain  ; 


ARGUMENT   AND    PERSUASION  319 

Minor  premise  :     the  sky  to-day  is  a  dull,  gray  sky  ; 
Conclusion  :  therefore,  the  sky  to-day  is  a  sign  of  rain. 

Fallacies  of  Deduction.  —  In  deductive  reasoning,  the  danger 
of  fallacy  lies  (i)  in  reasoning  from  a  generalization  which, 
though  true,  does  not  apply  to  the  case  in  question,  and  (2)  in 
reasoning  from  a  generalization  which  is  false.  For  example, 
the  generalization,  "  Boys  who  go  in  swimming  get  their  hair 
thoroughly  wet,"  is  perfectly  true,  yet  it  might  not  apply  in 
the  case  of  any  given  boy  with  wet  hair,  for  there  are  many 
ways  in  which  a  boy  might  get  his  hair  wet.  The  generaliza- 
tion, "  All  men  are  rascals,"  is  itself  untrue,  therefore  the  fact 
that  A  is  3.  man  does  not  prove  that  A  is  a.  rascal.  Common 
forms  of  these  fallacies  occur  in  argimig  beside  the  poirt  or 
irrelcvajit  co7tchision,  and  in  begging  tJie  question. 

Arguing  beside  the  Point,  or  Irrelevant  Conclusion.  —  As  its 
name  implies,  arguing  beside  the  point  consists  in  talking  on 
a  topic  quite  apart  from  the  question  at  issue.  For  example, 
if  the  question  up  for  discussion  is  a  man's  fitness  to  be 
mayor,  it  is  arguing  beside  the  point  to  prove  that  he  is  an 
able  musician  or  a  remarkable  golf  player.  If  a  man  is  being 
tried  for  robbery,  it  is  arguing  beside  the  point  to  prove  that 
the  lawyer  who  is  defending  him  smokes  to  excess.  This 
particular  form  of  arguing  beside  the  point,  i.e.,  the  showing 
up  of  inconsistencies  in  the  character,  condition,  or  circum- 
stances of  a  person  concerned  in  the  discussion,  although  these 
inconsistencies  have  nothing:  to  do  with  the  merits  of  the 
question  at  issue,  is  known  as  arginnentuyn  ad  hoynineni.  If 
the  question  at  issue  is  the  need  of  a  change  in  the  form  of 
municipal  government,  it  is  arguing  beside  the  point  to  tell 
the  body  of  listeners  what  fine  fellows  they  are  and  how  much 
more  they  know  than  the  average  audience.  This  form  of 
arguing  beside  the  point,  i.e.,  the  appeal  to  the  prejudices  or 
emotions  of  a  body  of  people  so  as  to  prevent  them  from 


320 


PRACTIC.\L   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 


judging  impartially  the  question  at  issue,  is  known  as  argu- 
mentiim  ad popiiliwi. 

Confusion  of  Terms  or  Ambiguity.  —  A  common  form  in 
which  arguing  beside  the  point,  or  irrelevant  conclusion, 
shows  itself  is  in  what  is  known  as  the  fallacy  of  confzision  of 
terms,  or  ainbigiiity.  This  fallacy  grows  out  of  the  use  of  a 
term  with  one  meaning  in  one  place  and  with  another  meaning 
in  another  place.  The  fallacy  may  degenerate  into  a  mere 
verbal  puzzle,  but  often  it  is  the  result  of  an  unintentional 
variation  in  the  meaning  of  a  term,  which,  because  of  the 
length  of  the  address,  remains  undiscovered.  For  example, 
the  word  liberty  properly  means  lawf?i I  freedom.  To  use  it 
in  this  sense  in  one  part  of  an  address  and  in  the  sense  of 
lice7ise  in  another  part  of  the  same  address  would  be  to  be 
guilty  of  the  fallacy  of  confusion  of  terms,  or  ambiguity. 

An  illustration  of  a  case  where  accurate  reasoning  is 
essential,  yet  where  the  fallacy  of  confusion  of  terms  almost 
invariably  creeps  in,  is  quoted  from  Mill  by  Professor  Jevons  : 

The  mercantile  public  are  frequently  led  into  this  fallacy  by  the  phrase 
"scarcity  of  money."  In  the  language  of  commerce,  "money"  has  two 
meanings  :  C7irrency,  or  the  circulating  wediiim  ;  and  capital  seeking  in- 
vestment, especially  investment  on  loan.  In  this  last  sense,  the  word  is 
used  when  the  "  money  market "  is  spoken  of,  and  when  the  "  value  of 
money"  is  said  to  be  high  or  low,  the  rate  of  interest  being  meant.  The 
consequence  of  this  ambiguity  is,  that  as  soon  as  scarcity  of  money  in  the 
latter  of  these  senses  begins  to  be  felt,  —  as  soon  as  there  is  difficulty  of 
obtaining  loans,  and  the  rate  of  interest  is  high,  —  it  is  concluded  that 
this  must  arise  from  causes  acting  upon  the  quantity  of  money  in  the 
other  and  more  popular  sense;  that  the  circulating  medium  must  have 
diminished  in  quantity,  or  ought  to  be  increased.  I  am  aware  that,  inde- 
pendently of  the  double  meaning  of  the  term,  there  are  in  the  tacts  them- 
selves some  peculiarities,  giving  an  apparent  support  to  this  error;  but  the 
ambiguity  of  the  language  stands  on  the  very  threshold  of  the  subject,  and 
intercepts  all  attempts  to  throw  light  upon  it. 

—  Lessons  in  Logic,  Jevons. 


ARGUMENT  AND   PERSUASION 


321 


The  way  to  avoid  a  fallacy  of  this  kind  is  to  insist  upon  a 
careful  definition  of  terms  and  a  strict  adherence  to  the  given 
meaning  wherever  the  term  appears. 

Begging  the  Question.  —  Begging  the  question  consists  in 
using  a  generalization  to  reach  a  conclusion  and  then  using 
the  conclusion  reached  to  prove  the  original  generalization. 
A  common  illustration  is  the  famous  one  about  the  bear  and 
the  porringer.  A  woman  said  to  a  child,  "  This  must  be  the 
little  bear's  porringer,  it  is  so  little,"  arguing  the  ownership  of 
the  porringer  from  the  size  of  the  bear.  Then  she  added, 
"  This  bear  must  be  smaller  than  we  thought,"  arguing  from 
the  size  of  the  porringer  the  size  of  the  bear,  although  the 
smallness  of  the  bear  was  the  basis  on  which,  in  the  first 
place,  she  founded  her  argument  about  the  ownership  of  the 
porringer. 

Question-begging  Words.  —  A  common  method  of  begging 
the  question  comes  in  the  use  of  question-begging  words. 
For  example,  to  say  that  valvular  heart  trouble  is  likely 
to  persist  because  it  is  chronic  is  to  say  that  chronic  val- 
vular heart  difficulty  is  chronic,  which  is  manifestly  to 
beg  the  question.  To  say  that  a  law  is  unconstitutional 
without  showing  wherein  the  unconstitutionality  lies,  is  to 
beg  the  question.  To  say  that  trusts  are  widely  and  un- 
pleasantly known  because  they  are  notorious  is  to  say  that 
notorious  trusts  are  notorious  and  thereby  to  beg  the 
question. 

A  reasoner  must  be  constantly  on  the  watch  to  avoid  beg- 
ging the  question  in  any  of  its  forms.  He  must  test  his  own 
arguments  and  his  own  use  of  words  as  well  as  the  arguments 
and  the  words  used  by  his  opponents.  An  excellent  test  of  a 
deductive  argument  consists  in  casting  it  into  syllogistic  form, 
for  a  fallacy,  if  it  exists,  is  thereby  likely  to  be  thrown  into 
relief  and  so  to  be  readily  detected. 


322  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 


EXERCISE  IV 

I     a.    Bring   to  class  five  examples  of  deductive  reasoning  drawn  from 
textbooks  other  than  English  textbooks. 

b.  In  each  case  cast  the  reasoning  into  the  form  of  a  syllogism. 

c.  Name  the  parts  of  each  syllogism  and  show  that  the  conclusion 

is  logical. 
3.   a.   Bring  to  class  three  deductions  which  you  have  heard  made  in 
ordinary  conversation. 
b.   Test  each  deduction  by  castmg  it   into  the  form  of  a  syllogism, 
and  show  that  the  reasoning  is  logical  or  fallacious. 

3.  Write  and  read  to  the  class  five  original  syllogisms. 

a.  What  criticisms  did  the  class  make  upon  your  syllogisms? 

b.  Reconstruct  faulty  syllogisms  to  make  them  correct. 

4.  a.  Bring  to  class  a  short  speech  given  in  support  of  a  prominent 

candidate. 
b.    Bring  to  class  a  short  speech  given  in  opposition  to  a  promi- 
nent candidate. 

Test  each  speech  for  the  following  fallacies : 

(i)  Arguing  from  too  few  instances. 

(2)  Assuming  a  cause  and  effect  relation  where  none  exists. 

(3)  Reasoning  from  false  inferences. 

(4)  Ignoring  mstances  that  point  to  a  different  conclusion. 

(5)  Arguing  beside  the  point. 

(6)  Begging  the  question. 

THEME    I 

Write  an  argument  on  either  the  affirmative  or  the  negative  side  of  two 
of  the  following  propositions  : 

1.  Physical  training  should  be  persistently  taken  by  students. 

2.  At   least   one   foreign   language   should   be  studied    by  every   stu- 

dent. 

3.  Every  student  should  have  a  definite  aim  in  view. 

4.  Baseball  requires  more  mtelligence  m  a  player  than  does  football. 

In  each  of  your  themes  : 

a.  Show  what  method  of  reasoning  you  used. 

b.  Show  that  your  reasoning  is  free  from  fallacy. 


ARGUMKXr   AM)    f'KRSUASIOX  323 

The  Relation  between  Induction  and  Deduction.  —  Funda- 
mentally, all  argument  rests  on  induction,  for  the  generaliza- 
tions on  which  deductive  argument  rests  are  themselves  the 
product  of  induction.  An  excellent  test,  indeed,  of  the  truth 
of  a  conclusion  drawn  from  induction  is  its  application  to  a 
specific  case  by  means  of  the  syllogism  of  deduction. 

On  the  basis  of  the  source  from  which  they  are  derived, 
arguments  are  often  classified  as  arguments  from  antecedent 
probability,  arguments  from  example,  or  arguments  from  sign. 

Argument  from  Antecedent  Probability.  —  Argument  from 
antecedent  probability  is  argument  based  on  »the  relation  of 
cause  and  effect.  For  example,  a  person  argues  from  ante- 
cedent probability  that  striking  a  match  on  a  rough  surface 
or  on  a  prepared  surface  will  ignite  the  match  because  re- 
peated experiments  have  shown  him  that  the  friction  thus 
caused  does  ignite  a  match.  A  person  argues  from  antece- 
dent probability  that  the  exposure  to  cold  and  wet  which  has 
frequently  given  him  tonsilitis  will  again  cause  him  to  have 
tonsilitis.  A  man  argues  from  antecedent  probability  that 
the  superior  skill  which  has  made  a  champion  golf  player 
win  twenty  important  contests  will  cause  him  to  win  the 
twenty-first  important  contest,  and  so  on. 

The  Importance  of  Argument  from  Antecedent  Probability.  — 
Argument  from  antecedent  probability  is  the  strongest  kind 
of  argument,  for  the  relation  of  cause  and  effect,  once  es- 
tablished, is  absolute.  In  fiction,  in  philosophy,  in  science, 
in  practical  affairs,  reasoning  obtains  credence  in  proportion 
as  it  can  stand  the  test  of  the  cause  and  effect  relation.  No- 
where is  argument  from  antecedent  probability  more  necessary 
or  more  of  a  protection  than  in  the  court  room,  for  no  man 
can  be  convicted  unless  it  can  be  established  beyond  reason- 
able doubt  that  he  had  a  sufficient  motive  to  commit  the  crime 
of  which  he  is  accused. 


324 


PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 


The  Preponderance  of  Probability.  —  Argument  from  ante- 
cedent probability  can  usually  be  brought  in  support  of  both 
sides  of  a  case.  For  example,  a  person  may  have  a  furious 
temper  that  might  lead  him  to  commit  murder  in  a  fit  of  rage, 
yet  there  may  be  an  even  stronger  antecedent  probability 
that  he  will  never  commit  such  violence  because  of  an  in- 
herited abhorrence  of  the  sight  of  blood.  Where  a  desire  for 
gain  at  any  cost  might  lead  to  theft,  a  stronger  desire  for  the 
respect  of  society  or  a  fear  of  certain  punishment  might  deter 
a  person  from  committing  such  a  crime.  A  reasoner  must 
take  into  account  the  various  proclivities  of  the  person  in- 
volved and  be  governed  in  his  conclusions  by  the  preponder- 
ance of  probability ;  i.e.,  he  must  decide  what  proclivities 
have  the  greater  force  and  so  are  likely  to  be  the  controlling 
factors  in  governing  the  actions  of  a  person. 

The  Fallacies  of  Argument  from  Antecedent  Probability.  — 
The  fallacies  of  antecedent  probability  are  naturally  the  as- 
suming of  a  cause  and  effect  relation  where  none  exists  (the 
7ton  causa  pro  causa  and  \\iQ  post  hoc  propter  hoc  fallacies),  the 
giving  too  much  weight  to  one  cause  or  motive  and  neglect- 
ing other  possible  causes  and  motives,  the  arguing  from  false 
inferences  or  improbable  fiction,  and  the  ignoring  of  instances 
that  point  to  a  different  conclusion  from  the  one  inferred. 

EXERCISE   V 

Bring  to  class  four  examples  of  argument  from  antecedent  probability. 
a.    Read  your  illustrations   to  the  class  and  discuss  with   them  the 
argumentative  force  of  your  illustrations. 

THEME  II 
Arguing  from  antecedent  probability,  establish  the  truth  or  the  falsity  of 
each  of  the  following  propositions: 

1.  Self-made  men  are  the  strongest  men, 

2.  Capital  and  labor  will  always  be  at  war. 

3.  Prejudice  hinders  progress. 


ARGUMENT   AND    PERSUASION  325 

In  each  of  your  themes  : 

a.  Show  that  your  arguments  are  convincing. 

b.  Show  that  your  work  contains  no  fallacies. 

Argument  from  Example. — Argument  from  example  con- 
sists in  proving  the  truth  of  an  assertion  by  selecting  certain 
special  instances  which  impress  quickly  and  forcibly  the  truth 
to  be  estabUshed. 

Read  the  following  selection  : 

In  large  bodies  the  circulation  of  power  must  be  less  vigorous  at  the 
extremities.  Nature  has  said  it.  The  Turk  cannot  govern  Egypt  and 
Arabia  and  Kurdistan  as  he  governs  Thrace,  nor  has  he  the  same  domin- 
ion in  Crimea  and  Algiers  which  he  has  in  Brusa  and  Smyrna.  Despotism 
itself  is  obliged  to  truck  and  huckster.  The  Sultan  gets  such  obedience  as 
he  can.  He  governs  with  a  loose  rein  that  he  may  govern  at  all ;  and  the 
whole  of  the  force  and  vigor  of  his  authority  in  his  center  is  derived  from 
a  prudent  relaxation  in  all  his  borders.  Spain,  in  her  provinces,  is,  per- 
haps, not  so  well  obeyed  as  you  are  in  yours.  She  complies,  too.  She 
watches  times.  This  is  the  immutable  condition,  the  eternal  law  of  exten- 
sive and  detached  empire.  —  Speech  oti  Conciliationy  Burke. 

In  this  selection,  the  truth  of  the  proposition,  "  In  large 
bodies  the  circulation  of  power  must  be  less  vigorous  at  the 
extremities,"  is  established  by  two  instances  which  show  the 
impossibility  of  governing  the  borders  of  a  large  empire  with 
anything  like  the  severity  that  can  be  exercised  in  the  heart 
of  the  country  where  the  central  governing  power  is  situated. 
The  examples  chosen  are  Turkey  and  Spain,  the  two  coun- 
tries that,  more  than  any  others  at  the  time  the  speech  was 
delivered,  held  large  dominions  under  their  sway. 

The  Fallacy  of  Argument  from  Example.  —  The  fallacy  of 
argument  from  example  lies  in  overlooking  or  suppressing 
instances  which  may  tend  to  overthrow  the  argument. 

Analogy.  —  Somewhat  akin  to  argument  from  example  is 
argument  from  analogy,  i.e.,  (i)  argument  based  on  resem- 


326  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH    COiMPOSITION 

blance  of  relations,  or  (2)  argument  based  on  the  actual  re- 
semblance of  objects,  the  inference  being  that  objects  alike 
in  several  particulars  will  be  alike  in  still  another  particular 
in  which  they  are  not  known  to  be  alike. 
Read  the  followins:  selection  : 

The  attempt  of  the  Lords  to  stop  the  progress  of  reform  reminds  me 
very  forcibly  of  the  great  storm  of  Sidmouth,  and  of  the  conduct  of  the 
excellent  Mrs.  Partington  on  that  occasion.  In  the  winter  of  1824.  there 
set  in  a  great  flood  upon  that  town  — the  tide  rose  to  an  incredible  height 
—  the  waves  rushed  in  upon  the  houses,  and  everything  was  threatened 
with  destruction.  In  the  midst  of  this  sublime  and  terrible  storm,  Dame 
Partington,  who  Hved  upon  the  beach,  was  seen  at  the  door  of  her  house 
with  mop  and  pattens,  trundling  her  mop,  squeezing  out  the  sea-water, 
and  vigorously  pushing  away  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  The  Atlantic  was 
roused.  Mrs.  Partington's  spirit  was  up;  but  I  need  not  tell  you  that  the 
contest  was  unequal.  The  Atlantic  Ocean  beat  Mrs.  Partington.  She 
was  excellent  at  a  slop,  or  a  puddle,  but  she  should  not  have  meddled  with 
a  tempest.  Gentlemen,  be  at  your  ease  —  be  quiet  and  steady.  You  will 
beat  Mrs.  Partington.  —  Sydney  Smith. 

In  this  selection,  an  analogy  based  on  a  resemblance  of 
relations,  the  Lords,  who  opposed  reform,  are  likened  to  Mrs. 
Partington,  and  the  English  people  as  a  whole,  who  favored 
reform,  are  likened  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  The  analogy  lies 
in  the  fact  that  the  Lords  opposed  to  reform  were  as  power- 
less to  hinder  the  reformers  from  carrying  out  their  projects 
as  Mrs.  Partington  was  to  stem  the  advance  of  the  Atlantic 
Ocean. 

Read  the  following  selection  : 

We  may  observe  a  very  great  similitude  between  this  earth  which  we 
inhabit  and  the  other  planets,  Saturn,  Jupiter,  Mars,  Venus,  and  Mer- 
cury. They  all  revolve  round  the  sun.  as  the  earth  does,  although  at  dif- 
ferent distances  and  in  different  periods.  They  borrow  all  their  light  from 
the  sun,  as  the  earth  does.  Several  of  them  are  known  to  revolve  round 
their  axis  like  the  earth,  and  by  that  means  have  like  succession  of  day 
and  night.     Some  of  them  have  moons  that  serve  to  give  them  Liy^hL  in 


ARGUMENT    AND    PERSUASION  327 

the  absence  of  the  sun,  as  our  moon  does  to  us.  They  are  all.  in  their 
motions,  subject  to  the  same  law  of  gravitation  as  the  earth  is.  From  all 
this  similitude,  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  think  that  these  planets  may,  like 
our  earth,  be  the  habitation  of  various  orders  of  living  creatures.  There  is 
some  probability  in  this  conclusion  from  analogy. 

—  Intellectual  Powers^  Reid. 

In  this  selection,  an  example  of  analogy  based  on  the  actual 
resemblance  of  objects  in  several  particulars,  the  argument 
lies  in  the  fact  that  objects  which  are  alike  in  six  funda- 
mental respects,  as  are  the  earth  and  the  other  planets,  are 
probably  alike  in  another  important  particular. 

The  Fallacy  of  Analogy.  —  In  using  analogy  based  on  a  re- 
semblance of  relations,  the  fallacy  hes  in  an  attempt  to  make 
a  comparison  where  there  is  no  point  of  resemblance  in  the 
relations  between  objects  or  where  the  resemblance  is  so 
slight  that  an  attempt  to  develop  it  is  far-fetched.  In  using 
analogy  based  on  the  actual  resemblance  of  objects,  the  fal- 
lacy lies  in  expecting  a  resemblance  in  some  particular  entirely 
unconnected  with  the  characteristics  which  show  resemblance 
in  the  objects. 

EXERCISE   VI 

1 .  Bring  to  class  two  illustrations  of  argument  by  example. 

2.  Bring  to  class  two  illustrations  of  argument  by  analogy  based  on  a 
resemblance  of  relations. 

3.  Bring  to  class  two  illustrations  of  argument  by  analogy  based  on  the 
actual  resemblance  of  objects. 

a.    Read  your  illustrations  to  the  class  and  discuss   with  them  the 
argumentative  value  of  the  illustrations. 

THEME  III 

A.  I.  Arguing  from  example,  prove  the  truth  or  the  falsity  of  any  three 
of  the  following  propositions  : 

a.  Persistent  effort  wins  success. 

b.  Irrigation  greatly  increases  the  value  of  land. 


328  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH    COMPOSITION 

c.  Care  in  diet  is  necessary  to  health. 

d.  Wise  advertising  increases  business. 

e.  Unclean  milk  is  a  menace  to  public  health. 

2.  Arguing  from  analogy  based  on  relation,  prove  the  truth  of  the  fol- 
lowing proposition. 

a.    Airships  will  become  public  necessities. 

3.  Arguing  from  analogy  based  on  the  actual  resemblance  of  objects, 
prove  the  truth  of  each  of  the  following  propositions  : 

a.  The  two  strangers  must  be  brothers. 

b.  The  two  pictures  were  painted  by  the  same  man. 

c.  These  two  machines  will  prove  equally  ineffective. 

In  each  of  your  themes  : 

(i)    See  that  the  material  you  have  used  cannot  fail  to  be  convinc- 
ing to  any  reasonable  person. 
(2)    See  that  your  work  contains  no  fallacies. 

B.  Read  any  two  of  your  themes  to  your  class. 

C.  Rewrite  each  theme,  correcting  the  faults  pointed  out  by  the  class. 

Argument  from  Sign.  —  A  very  common  form  of  argument 
occurs  in  argument  from  sign;  i.e.^  argument  which  is  based 
on  the  association  of  ideas.  For  example,  when  a  person  sees 
smoke  he  at  once  thinks  that  fire  is  near,  because  fire  is 
always  associated  with  smoke.  Similarly,  when  a  person  sees 
that  ice  has  formed  on  a  pool  out  of  doors,  he  at  once  thinks 
that  the  temperature  is  below  the  freezing  point,  because  a 
low  temperature  always  goes  with  the  formation  of  ice. 

The  Importance  of  Argument  from  Sign.  —  Arguments  from 
sign  vary  in  value  according  to  their  nature.  When  they 
are  based  on  cause  and  effect,  as  in  the  two  preceding  in- 
stances, they  are  very  forcible,  but  otherwise  they  are  weak 
unless  used  to  support  stronger  arguments  or  unless  supported 
by  stronger  arguments. 

Fallacies  of  Argument  from  Sign.  —  The  fallacies  of  argu- 
ment from  sign  are  usually  misinterpretations.  A  case  of 
illness  is  often  taken  as  a  sign  of  extreme  care  and  worry 


ARGUMENT   AND    PERSUASION  329 

when  it  is  in  reality  merely  the  result  of  careless  eating. 
Strikes,  wars,  and  the  overthrow  of  governments  are  taken 
by  some  people  to  be  signs  of  the  coming  of  the  end  of  the 
world,  while  other  people  see  in  them  merely  the  effect  of  the 
oppression  and  greed  of  the  rich  and  powerful.  In  the  one 
case,  there  is  merely  an  arbitrary  association  of  ideas, — there, 
is  really  no  connection  between  the  fact  known  and  the  one 
toward  which  the  argument  points,  while,  in  the  other  case, 
the  signs  are  interpreted  as  the  natural  effects  of  certain 
causes  which  are  known  to  produce  such  effects.  The  fallacy, 
then,  consists  in  making  inferences  where  there  is  no  con- 
nection whatever  between  the  known  fact  and  the  fact  toward 
which  the  argument  points,  of  attributing  an  effect  to  a  wrong 
cause,  or,  it  may  be,  of  overestimating  the  closeness  or  the 
lastingness  of  the  connection  between  two  facts. 

Sign  opposed  by  Antecedent  Probability. — Argument  from 
sign  may  be  altered  or  disproved  by  argument  from  antecedent 
probability.  For  example,  a  man  seen  lurking  under  a  win- 
dow of  a  house  in  which  a  burglary  is  shortly  after  committed 
would  naturally  be  suspected  of  the  crime.  When  it  is  dis- 
covered that  he  is  a  man  of  excellent  character,  a  firm  friend 
of  the  owner,  and  that  he  himself  has  lost  some  property 
which  he  had  lent  the  owner  for  use  on  the  night  of  the 
robbery,  argument  from  antecedent  probability  goes  far  to 
establish  his  innocence. 

EXERCISE  Vn 

Bring  to  class  five  illustrations  of  argument  from  sign. 

a.    Show  whether  or  not   your  illustrations  are  based  on  cause  and 
effect,  custom,  or  mere  coincidence. 

The  Preparation  of  an  Argument.  —  In  preparing  an  argu- 
ment or  a  debate,  a  speaker  or  writer  should  first  prepare  an 
outline  in  sentence  form,  i.e.,  a  brief,  such  as  is  to  be  found  in 


330  PRACTICAL   KNCLlSIl    COMPOSITIOxX 

the  chapter  on  the  Paragrapli  in  this  book.  A  brief  will  help 
him  to  test  the  truth  and  the  accuracy  of  the  material  that 
he  intends  to  use  and  will  enable  him  to  present  it  with  the 
greatest  effectiveness.  Whatever  the  method  of  reasoning 
used,  the  speaker  or  writer  must  be  careful  to  select  the 
.material,  which  from  his  point  of  view  is  best  suited  to 
impress  upon  the  person  or  persons  addressed  the  truth  or  the 
falsity  of  the  proposition  under  discussion  ;  he  must  arrange 
the  material  in  the  order  demanded  by  the  form  of  reasoning 
chosen  and  in  the  order  suited  to  impress  upon  the  person  or 
persons  addressed  the  point  to  be  made  by  the  argument;  he 
must  express  the  ideas  in  language  which  is  clear,  simple, 
and  to  the  point;  i.e.y  in  language  suited  to  impress  upon  the 
person  or  persons  addressed  the  point  to  be  made  by  the 
argument. 

Burden  of  Proof  and  Presumption.  —  In  preparing  an  argu- 
ment, it  is  well  for  the  speaker  or  writer  to  remember  that 
the  burden  of  proof,  i.e.^  the  obligation  to  show  adequate 
reason  for  changing  the  existing  order  of  things,  rests  upon 
the  person  who  advocates  such  change ;  and  that  the  pre- 
sumption, i.e.,  the  advantage  of  the  support  of  law  and  custom, 
rests  with  the  person  who  advocates  existing  conditions.  In 
the  course  of  debate,  the  burden  of  proof  and  the  presumption 
may  change  many  times  from  side  to  side,  but  it  is  wise  to 
note  the  time  of  change  in  order  to  get  all  the  advantage 
possible  both  from  forcing  an  opponent  to  show  adequate 
reasons  for  what  he  is  advocating  and  from  using  the  weight 
of  established  custom  to  support  one's  own  position. 

The  Refutation  of  Argument.  In  the  practical  argument 
of  everyday  life,  a  person  has  not  only  to  establish  the  truth 
of  his  own  beliefs,  but  also  to  show  the  weakness  in  the 
arguments  of  his  opponent.  To  do  this  he  must  be  familiar 
with  the  subject,  and,  so  far  as  possible,  with  the  arguments 


ARGUMENT   AND    PERSUASION  33 1 

in  support  of  both  sides  of  the  question  at  issue.  Then  he 
must  study  the  arguments  used  against  him  to  find  their  weak 
points,  in  order  to  show  that  the  conclusion  reached  by  his 
opponent  is  false,  because  his  opponent  has  reasoned  from 
too  few  instances,  or  else  has  reasoned  from  a  generalization 
which  does  not  fit  the  case  in  question  or  from  a  generaliza- 
tion which  is  in  itself  a  mere  assertion  that  is  not  true.  In 
answering  his  opponent,  he  must  be  careful  to  show  the 
weakness  of  the  two  or  three  main  arguments  on  which  his 
opponent  is  depending  for  success. 

Persuasion.  —  Persuasion  is  the  kind  of  speech  or  of 
writing  which  aims  to  alter  the  belief  or  the  conduct  of  the 
person  or  persons  addressed  by  an  appeal  to  the  feelings. 

Although,  occasionally,  persuasion  is  found  by  itself,  ordi- 
narily it  is  combined  with  argument  to  arouse  emotion  and  incite 
to  action. 

Read  the  following  selection  : 

If  I  were  to  tell  you  the  story  of  Napoleon,  I  should  take  it  from  the 
lips  of  Frenchmen,  who  find  no  lansjuage  rich  enough  to  paint  the  great 
captain  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Were  I  to  tell  you  of  Washington.  1 
should  take  it  from  your  hearts,  you  who  think  no  marble  white  enough  on 
which  to  carve  the  name  of  the  Father  of  his  Country.  But  I  am  to  tell 
you  the  story  of  a  negro,  Toussaint  L'Ouverture,  who  has  left  hardly  one 
written  line.  I  am  to  glean  it  from  the  reluctant  testimony  of  his  enemies, 
men  who  despised  him  because  he  was  a  negro  and  a  slave,  hated  him  be- 
cause he  had  beaten  them  in  battle. 

Napoleon,  at  the  age  of  twenty-seven,  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the 
best  troops  Europe  ever  saw.  Cromwell  never  saw  an  army  till  he  was 
forty.  This  man  never  saw  a  soldier  till  he  was  fifty.  Cromwell  manu- 
factured his  armv  out  of  what?  Out  of  Englishmen,  the  best  blood  in 
Europe.  And  with  it  he  conquered  what?  Englishmen,  their  equals. 
This  man  manufactured  his  army  out  of  what?  Out  of  what  you  call  the 
despicable  race  of  negroes,  debased,  demoralized  by  two  hundred  years  of 
slavery,  100,000  of  them  imported  into  the  island  within  four  years,  unable 
to  speak  a  dialect  intelligible  even  to  each  other.  Yet  out  of  this  mixed 
mass  he  forged  a  thunderbolt,  and  hurled  it  at  what?     At  the  proudest 


332  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

blood  in  Europe,  the  Spaniard,  and  sent  him  home  conquered;  at  the 
most  warlike  blood  in  Europe,  the  French,  and  put  them  under  his  feet ; 
at  the  pluckiest  blood  in  Europe,  the  English,  and  they  skulked  home  to 
Jamaica.  Now,  if  Cromwell  was  a  general,  at  least  this  man  was  a 
soldier.  Cromwell  was  only  a  soldier ;  his  fame  stops  there.  Not  one 
line  in  the  statute  book  of  Britain  can  be  traced  to  Cromwell ;  not  one  step 
in  the  social  life  of  England  finds  its  native  power  in  his  brain.  The 
state  he  founded  went  down  with  him  to  its  grave.  But  this  man  no 
sooner  put  his  hand  on  the  helm  of  state,  than  the  ship  steadied  with  an 
upright  keel,  and  he  began  to  evince  a  statesmanship  as  marvelous  as  his 
military  genius.  In  1800,  this  negro  made  a  proclamation;  it  runs  thus  : 
"  Sons  of  St.  Domingo,  come  home.  We  never  meant  to  take  your  houses 
or  your  lands.  The  negro  only  asked  that  liberty  that  God  gave  him. 
Your  houses  wait  for  you,  your  lands  are  ready ;  come  and  cultivate  them." 
And  from  iMadrid  and  Paris,  from  Baltimore  and  New  Orleans,  the  emi- 
grant planters  crowded  home  to  enjoy  their  estates,  under  the  pledged 
word  —  that  was  never  broken  —  of  a  victorious  slave. 

I  would  call  him  Napoleon,  but  Napoleon  made  his  way  to  empire  over 
broken  oaths  and  through  a  sea  of  blood.  This  man  never  broke  his  word. 
"  No  retaliation,"  was  his  great  motto  and  the  rule  of  his  life.  I  would 
call  him  Cromwell,  but  Cromwell  was  only  a  soldier.  I  would  call  him 
Washington,  but  the  great  Virginian  held  slaves.  This  man  risked  his 
empire  rather  than  permit  the  slave  trade  in  the  humblest  village  in  his 
dominions.  You  think  me  a  fanatic,  for  you  read  history  not  with  your 
eyes,  but  with  your  prejudices.  But  when  Truth  gets  a  hearing,  the  muse 
of  history  will  put  Phocion  for  the  Greek,  Brutus  for  the  Roman,  Hampden 
for  England,  Fayette  for  France,  Washington  as  the  bright  consummate 
flower  of  our  earlier  civilization,  and  John  Brown  the  ripe  fruit  of  our  noon- 
day ;  then  dipping  her  pen  in  the  sunlight,  will  write  in  the  clear  blue, 
above  them  all,  the  name  of  the  soldier,  the  statesman,  the  martyr  — 
Toussaint  L'Ouverture.  —  Toussaint  VOuvertiire,  Wendell  Phillips. 

The  Preparation  of  Persuasion.  —  In  selecting,  arranging, 
and  expressing  ideas  to  form  a  good  piece  of  persuasion,  a 
speaker  or  writer  must  take  extreme  care  to  use  the  kind  of 
details  and  the  kind  of  language  that  will  best  appeal  to  both 
the  minds  and  the  hearts  of  the  persons  addressed.  He  who 
speaks  truth  with  directness  and  with  sincerity  is  most  likely 
to  carry  conviction. 


ARGUMENT   AND    PERSUASIOxN  333 

EXERCISE  Vni 

Read  the  following  selections  : 

1.  Next  morning,  waking  with  the  day^s  first  beam, 
He  said  within  himself,  "  It  was  a  dream!  " 

But  the  straw  rustled  as  he  turned  his  head ; 
There  were  the  cap  and  bells  beside  his  bed, 
Around  him  rose  the  bare  discolored  walls, 
Close  by  the  steeds  were  champing  in  their  stalls, 
And  in  the  corner,  a  revolting  shape, 
Shivering  and  chattering  sat  the  wretched  ape. 
It  v*as  no  dream  ;  the  world  he  loved  so  much 
Had  turned  to  dust  and  ashes  at  his  touch ! 

—  Robert  of  Sicily^  Longfellow. 

We   "  MATCH  "   FOR    SCRAPS   OF    FOOD 

2.  The  next  day  was  better,  for  I  wrote : 

"February  22d.  A  splendid  day.  We  did  twenty  and  a  half  miles 
and  on  the  strength  of  the  distance  had  a  good  feed.  About  11  a.m.  we 
suddenly  came  across  the  tracks  of  a  party  of  four  men  with  dogs.  Evi- 
dently the  weather  had  been  fine,  and  they  had  been  moving  at  a  good 
pace  toward  the  south.  We  could  tell  that  the  weather  had  been  fine,  for 
they  were  wearing  ski  boots  instead  of  finneskoe,  and  occasionally  we  saw 
the  stump  of  a  cigarette.  The  length  of  the  steps  showed  that  they  were 
going  fast.  We  are  now  camped  on  the  tracks,  which  are  fairly  recent, 
and  we  will  try  to  follow  them  to  the  Bluff,  for  they  must  have  come  from 
the  depot.  This  assures  us  that  the  depot  was  laid  all  right.  I  cannot 
imagine  who  the  fourth  man  can  be,  unless  he  was  Buckley,  who  might  be 
there  now  that  the  ship  is  in. 

"  We  passed  their  noon  camp,  and  I  am  certain  that  the  ship  is  in,  for 
there  were  tins  Iving  round  bearing  brands  different  from  those  of  the 
original  stores.  We  found  three  little  bits  of  chocolate  and  a  little  bit  of 
biscuit  at  the  camp,  after  carefully  searching  the  ground  for  such  uncon- 
sidered trifles,  and  we  *  turned  backs '  for  them.  I  was  unlucky  enough  to 
get  the  bit  of  biscuit,  and  a  curious  unreasoning  anger  took  possession  of 
me  for  a  moment  at  my  bad  luck.  It  shows  how  primitive  we  have 
become,  and  how  much  the  question  of  even  a  morsel  of  food  affects  our 
judgment.     We  are  near  the  end  of  our  food,  but  as  we  have  staked  every- 


334  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH    COMPOSITION 

thing  on  the  Bluff  depot,  we  had  a  good  feed  to-night.     If  we  do  not  pick 
up  the  depot,  there  will  be  absolutely  no  hope  for  us."' 

—  In  the  Heart  of  the  Antarctic,  Shackleton. 

3.  Mr.  X.  points  to  his  record  as  a  logical  reason  why  he  should  be 
reelected,  and  would  have  it  that  this  record  shows  "the  real  X." 

What,  then,  does  his  record  show  ?  It  shows  him  lifted  into  office  on  a 
reform  wave,  the  crest  of  which  had  been  produced  by  the  revelations  of 
the  original  Finance  Commission.  He  immediately  put  into  effect  such  of 
these  recommendations  as  he  could  easily  grasp.  He  did  not  borrow  out- 
side the  debt  limit  or  improperly  inside  the  debt  limit ;  he  swung  his  ax 
over  the  heads  of  an  uncertain  number  of  laborers ;  he  made  a  few 
excellent  appointments;  he  abolished  gift  contracts.  There  he  stopped. 
He  practically  left  untouched  the  unnecessary  clerks  and  the  excessive 
salaries  in  the  various  departments.  He  took  long  vacations,  made 
speeches  in  New  York  and  elsewhere  glorifying  reform  as  he  knew  it, 
visited  the  relief  work,  was  prominent  at  the  National  Conference  of 
Charities  in  Buffalo,  and  was  ill.  If  he  had  had  the  modesty  to  realize 
that  without  guidance  he  was  incapable  of  administering  intelligently  the 
affairs  of  this  municipality  and  could  thus  have  learned  from  others,  he 
might  to-day  be  a  leading  figure  in  the  great  movement  for  municipal 
reform.     He  did  not  remember  that  it  is  the  meek  who  inherit  the  earth. 

When  the  old  Commission  went  out  of  office,  his  ship  was  without  a 
competent  pilot.  The  character  of  his  appointments  steadily  deteriorated. 
The  two  additional  assessors  whom  he  insisted  on  appointing  were  super- 
fluous. The  two  new  commissioners  in  the  School  House  Department 
were  unfit  for  their  work.  For  the  proposed  Court  House  he  selected  an 
architect  whose  wrongdoing  when  employed  before  by  the  city  had  been 
admitted  on  the  witness  stand. 

Not  a  department  in  the  city  shows  the  result  of  any  study  on  his  part. 
Those  departments  in  which  the  Commission  had  shown  glaring  defects, 
the  street,  water,  printing,  health,  weights  and  measures,  collecting,  and 
fire  were  improved.  Others,  not  fully  reported  on  by  the  Commission, 
penal  institutions,  soldiers'  relief,  clerk  of  committees,  city  messenger, 
registry,  overseers  of  the  poor,  remained  practically  untouched. 

Mr.  X.  should  have  done  constantly  better  with  experience,  but  he  did 
not.  Throughout  his  administration  his  alert-minded  private  secretary 
usurped  more  and  more  the  prerogatives  of  the  mayor's  office.  When  the 
commissioner  and  the  assistant  commissioner  had  testified  under  oath 
before  the  present  Commission,  it  was  the  secretary  who  summoned  them 


ARGUMENT   AND    PERSUASION  335 

to  the  mayor's  office,  in  the  mayor's  absence,  and  practically  notified  them 
that  they  were  to  be  summarily  discharged.  The  secretary  has  been  as 
busy  as  the  mayor  has  been  intellectually  indolent.  It  is  not  merely  lack 
of  voice  on  Mr.  X.'s  part  which  leads  his  secretary  to  represent  him  in  this 
campaign. 

This  is  the  real  X.,  vain,  elated  by  his  sudden  elevation  to  high  office, 
weak,  well-meaning,  helpless  without  guidance,  prone  to  fall  under  evil 
influences  as  soon  as  the  good  are  removed,  bitterly  disappointed  by  the 
lack  of  enthusiasm  for  him  on  the  part  of  his  fellow-citizens,  afraid  to  seem 
vacillating,  and,  when  the  test  came,  an  incubus,  a  weight  about  the  ankles 
of  the  reformers,  a  man  of  broken  pledges,  finally  classed  as  a  partner  with 
the  shameless  mountebank  whom  he  had  himself  defeated. 

And  the  coming  election  probably  depends  on  the  number  of  citizens 
who,  blinding  themselves  to  the  living  issues  of  the  campaign,  are  about 
to  vote  for  X. 

4.  Laws  thai  are  harmful  to  the  community  should  be  repealed  ;  the 
anti-trust  law  is  harmful  to  the  community  ;  therefore  the  anti-trust  law 
should  be  repealed. 

5.  Laws  which  restrict  personal  liberty  are  impolitic;  the  law  which 
forbids  smoking  in  closed  cars  is  a  law  which  restricts  personal  liberty ; 
therefore  the  law  which  forbids  smoking  in  closed  cars  is  impolitic. 

6.  I  know  that  Mr.  A.  has  gone  into  town  for  he  went  down  the  street 
in  time  for  the  eight  o'clock  train. 

7.  In  answer  to  some  Western  men  who  were  criticizing  his  adminis- 
tration, President  Lincoln  said : 

'•  Gentlemen.  I  want  you  to  suppose  a  case  for  a  moment.  Suppose 
that  all  the  property  you  were  worth  was  in  gold,  and  you  had  put  it  in  the 
hands  of  Blondin,  the  famous  rope-walker,  to  carry  across  the  Niagara 
Falls  on  a  tight  rope.  Would  you  shake  the  rope  while  he  was  passing 
over  it,  or  keep  shouting  to  him.  '  Blondin,  stoop  a  little  more!  Go  a  little 
faster!'  No,  I  am  sure  you  would  not.  You  would  hold  your  breath  as 
well  as  your  tongue,  and  keep  your  hand  off  until  he  was  safely  over. 
Now,  the  government  is  in  the  same  situation.  It  is  carrying  an  immense 
weight  across  a  stormv  ocean.  Untold  treasures  are  in  its  hands.  It  is 
doing  the  best  it  can.  Don't  badger  it  !  Just  keep  still,  and  it  will  get  you 
safely  over." 

8.  In  answer  to  another  set  of  critics  at  another  time.  President  Lincoln 
remarked:  "  Would  you  advise  a  man  to  change  horses  in  the  middle  of  a 
stream  ? "' 


336  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

In  each  selection : 

a.  Show  whether  the  method  of  reasoning  is  inductive  or  deductive. 

b.  If  the  method  is  inductive,  show  :   (i)  whether  the  conclusion  is 

based  on  many  instances ;  (2)  whether  the  instances  stand  to 
one  another  in  the  relation  of  cause  and  effect ;  (3)  whether  the 
argument  is  argument  from  example ;  (4)  whether  the  argument 
is  argument  from  analogy. 

c.  If  the  method  is  deductive,  give  the  parts  of  the  syllogism,  and 

show  that  the  reasoning  is  accurate  or  false. 

THEME   IV 

First  preparing  a  brief,  write  an  argument  on  each  of  the  following 
propositions,  proving  either  its  truth  or  its  falsity : 

1 .  Motor  cars  should  pay  toll  on  state  highways. 

2.  Organized  sport  is  necessary  in  school  life. 

3.  Mr. should  be  the  next  captain  of  the  football  team. 

4.  The  city  boy  has  many  more  advantages  than  the  country  boy. 

In  each  of  your  compositions  : 

a.  State  your  conclusion. 

b.  Name  the  steps  by  which  you  have  reached  that  conclusion. 

c.  Show  how  each  detail  that  you  have  used  as  argument  leads  to  the 

conclusion. 

THEME  V 

A.  First  preparing  a  brief,  write  an  argument  on  any  one  of  the  following 
propositions,  using  the  method  or  methods  of  development  best  suited  to 
the  proposition  and  to  the  persons  addressed  : 

1.  Walking  is  the  best  exercise. 

2.  Railroads  should  be  owned  and  operated  by  the  government. 

3.  Child  labor  should  be  prohibited. 

4.  The  end  justifies  the  means. 

5.  Good  modern  books  are  as  essential  in  education  as  are  classics. 

B.  Exchange  your  theme  with  a  classmate. 

C.  Examine  the  theme  given  you  to  see  that  the  details  used  as  proof 
lead  logically  to  the  conclusion,  that  there  are  no  fallacies  in  reasoning, 
that  the  details  of  proof  are  arranged  so  as  to  appeal  with  increasing  power 
to  the  person  addressed. 

D.  Review  the  theme  to  see  that  each  sentence  is  grammatical,  is  cor- 
rectly punctuated,  and  contains  no  misspelled  words. 


ARGUMENT   AND   PERSUASION  337 

E.   Rewrite  your  own  theme,  making  the  improvements  suggested  by 
your  classmate. 

THEME  VI 

1.  Persuade  your  unwilling  classmates  to  establish  a  scholarship  fund. 

2.  Persuade  a  man  to  buy  your  automobile. 

3.  Persuade  your  little  brother  not  to  interfere  with  you  while  you  are 
studying. 

4.  Persuade  your  father  to  buy  you  a  canoe. 

THEME  Vn 

Using  persuasion  and  argument,  write  an  advertisement  for  each  of  the 
following  articles  : 

1.  Blank's  Soap. 

2.  The  Perfect  Sewing-machine. 

3.  The Biscuits. 

4.  The  Improved  Harvester. 

5.  Goods  in  a  Marked-down  Sale. 

SUMMARY 

To  write  an  argument : 

I.  Choose  a  subject  within  your  grasp. 

1.  Collect  all  the  evidence  bearing  on  the  proposition,  whether  the 

evidence  tends  to  prove  the  truth  or  the  falsity  of  the  proposition. 

2.  Decide  whether  you  will  support  the  affirmative  or  the  nega- 

tive side  of  the  proposition. 

3.  Select  the  evidence  necessary  to  prove  your  point  to  the  person 

or  persons  to  be  addressed. 

4.  With  the  person  or  persons  to  be  addressed  in  mind,  decide 

what  method  or  methods  of  reasoning  you  will  use. 

II.  Arrange  material  in  the  form  of  a  brief. 

1.   Use  the  order  best  suited  to  impress  upon  the  person  or  persons 
addressed  the  point  to  be  made  by  the  argument. 
a.    State  first  your  subject  and  your  point  of  view. 
ft.  Follow  the  opening  statement  with  an  argument  that  will 
catch  and  hold   the   attention  of  the   person  or  persons 
addressed, 
c.   Present  arguments  so  as  to  end  with  the  strongest  one. 

III.  Develop  your  brief  into  a  composition. 


338  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

1.  Express  ideas  in  language  adapted  to  the  subject  and  chosen  to 
appeal  to  the  minds  and  to  the  hearts  of  the  persons  ad- 
dressed. 

IV.  Criticize  your  work. 

1.   Examine  your  work  to  see : 

a.  That  you  have  stated  clearly  at  the  outset  the  proposition 

the  truth  or  falsity  of  which  is  to  be  estabUshed. 

b.  That  you  have  then  stated  clearly  your  point  of  view;   i.e., 

whether  you  intend  to  argue  in  favor  of  the  proposition  or 
against  it. 

c.  That  the  statements  used  as  proof : 

(1)  Bear  directly  on  the  point. 

(2)  Are  arranged  in  the  order  most  likely  to  appeal  to  the 

person  or  persons  addressed. 

(3)  Are  arranged  in  the  most  convincing  order. 

(4)  Are  free  from  fallacy. 

(6)   Are  stated  in  the  clearest,  most  appealing  language  at 
your  command. 

V.  Review  your  work. 

1.   Examine  your  work  to  see : 

a.  That  each  sentence  is  grammatical. 

b.  That  each  sentence  is  accurately  punctuated. 

c.  That  each  word  is  correctly  spelled. 

ADDITIONAL    SUBJECTS    FOR   ORAL   OR   WRITTEN   ARGUMENT 

OR   DEBATE 

1.  The  memory  is  trained  better  through  the  ear  than  through  the  eye. 

2.  Education  should  train  the  eye  and  the  hand  as  well  as  the  mind. 

3.  Street-car  companies  should  furnish  a  seat  for  every  fare  paid. 

4.  Cheap  apartments  are  injuring  cities. 

5.  Trolley  wires  should  be  put  under  ground. 

6.  The  United  States  should  increase  her  navy. 

7.  The  President  should  be  elected  directly  by  the  people. 

8.  Labor-saving  machinery  has  been  an  advantage  to  laborers. 

9.  The  Indians  are  receiving  proper  treatment. 

10.  Shops  should  close  at  five  o'clock. 

1 1 .  Play  is  as  necessary  as  work. 

12.  Certain  animals  should  be  protected  during  certain  seasons. 

13.  There  should  be  a  federal  income  tax. 


CHAPTER    XII 
FIGURES  OF   SPEECH 

Often,  in  ordinary  conversation  as  well  as  in  formal  prose 
and  in  poetry,  speakers  and  writers  use  words  or  groups  of 
words  which  are  not  intended  to  be  understood  literally. 
Among  such  expressions  are  :  "  at  a/z>/^//,"  "  a  cloudedhro-w,'' 
"the  crusade  against  bird-slaughter,"  "  A  storm  is  raging,'' 
"His  cheeks  ^<7w^^,"  "He  burst  into  laughter,"  "The  firm 
employs  fifty  ha7ids,''  "in  the  teeth  of  the  gale," 

"  O'er  me,  like  a  regal  tejtt, 
Cloudy-ribbed,  the  sunset  bent.'''' 

These  expressions  each  suggest  the  meaning  intended  with 
far  more  accuracy  and  vividness  than  literal  statements  could. 
The  effectiveness  of  such  expressions  is  due  either  to  the  un- 
expected turn  given  to  the  meaning  of  some  word  or  words 
or  to  the  aptness  of  the  resemblances  or  relations  unexpectedly 
pointed  out  as  existing  between  objects. 

An  expression  which  gives  vividness  and  force  to  thought 
by  an  unexpected  turn  in  the  meaning  of  some  word  or  words 
or  by  the  apt  pointing  out  of  unexpected  resemblances  or 
relations  between  objects  is  a  figure  of  speech. 

Figures  of  speech  may  be  placed  in  one  of  several  groups 
according  to  the  basis  of  classification. 

Simile. —  A  simile  is  a  figure  of  speech  in  which  likeness  is 
expressed  between  two  objects  belonging  to  different  classes, 
but  having  one  characteristic  in  common. 

The  simile  is  usually  introduced  by  a  word  of  comparison, 
such  as  /ike  or  as. 


340  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

# 
Examples  : 

I.  His  nose  was  shaped  like  the  bill  of  a  parrot ;  his  face  slightly  pitted 
with  smallpox,  with  a  dry  perpetual  bloom  on  it  like  a  frost-bitten  leaf  in 
autumn.  —  Irving. 


^ 


Like  a  leopard's  tawny  and  spotted  hide, 
Stretches  the  plain.  —  Longfellow, 

3.    Books  are  as  way  marks  for  us,  looking  back, 
Far  up  and  down  the  road.  —  Larcom. 

/ \.  Watch  the  white  glaciers  blaze  in   their  winding  paths  about  the 
mountains,  like  mighty  serpents  with  scales  of  fire.  —  Ruskin. 

Simile  differs  from  literal  comparison  in  that  in  simile  the 
objects  compared  belong  to  different  classes  and  so  have  al- 
most no  points  of  resemblance,  while  in  literal  comparison 
the  objects  or  ideas  compared  belong  to  the  same  class  and 
therefore  have  many  points  of  resemblance.     The  statement, 

"At  once  they  rush'd 
Together,  as  two  eagles  on  one  prey 
Come  rushing  down  together  from  the  clouds, 
One  from  the  east,  one  from  the  west," 

is  a  simile  because  the  objects  compared,  men  and  eagles, 
belong  to  different  classes  of  animals  and  resemble  one  another 
only  in  their  manner  of  attack.  The  statement,  "A  hawk 
is  like  an  eagle,"  is,  on  the  other  hand,  a  literal  comparison, 
because  the  hawk  and  the  eagle  belong  to  the  same  class  of 
animals,  birds  of  prey,  and  so  resemble  each  other  in  many 
typical  characteristics  and  habits  of  life. 

EXERCISE  I 

In  the  following  selections,  point  out  the  similes,  name  the  objects 
compared,  and  tell  how  the  thought  of  one  object  suggests  that  of  the  other  ; 

I .    Like  two  cathedral  towers  these  stately  pines 

Uplift  their  fretted  summits  tipped  with  cones.  —  Longfellow. 


•  FIGURES   OF   SPEECH  34 1 

2.  But  pleasures  are  like  poppies  spread. 
You  seize  the  flower,  its  bloom  is  shed  ; 
Or  like  the  snow-falls  in  the  river, 

A  moment  white  —  then  melts  forever  ; 
Or  like  the  borealis  race, 
That  flit  ere  you  can  point  their  place ; 
Or  like  the  rainbow's  lovely  form, 
Evanishing  amid  the  storm.  —  Burns. 

3.  When  the  moon  shone  we  did  not  see  the  candle, 

So  doth  the  greater  glory  dim  the  less.  —  Shakespeare. 

4.  Like  the  leaves  of  the  forest,  when  Summer  is  green, 
That  host  with  their  banners,  at  sunset  were  seen ; 
Like  the  leaves  of  the  forest,  when  Autumn  hath  blown, 
That  host,  on  the  morrow,  lay  withered  and  strown.  —  Byron. 

5.  Nature  is  full  of  a  sublime  family  likeness  throughout  her  works. 
She  delights  in  startling  us  with  resemblances  in  the  most  unexpected 
quarters.  I  have  seen  the  head  of  an  old  sachem  of  the  forest,  which  at 
once  reminded  the  eye  of  a  bald  mountain  summit,  and  the  furrows  of  the 
brow  suggested  the  strata  of  the  rock.  —  Emerson. 

6.  Like  as  the  waves  make  toward  the  pebbled  shore. 
So  do  our  minutes  hasten  to  their  end ; 

Each  changing  place  with  that  which  goes  before. 

In  sequent  toil  all  forwards  do  contend.  —  Shakespeare. 

7.  A  man^s  mind  may  be  likened  to  a  garden,  which  may  be  intelli- 
gently cultivated,  or  allowed  to  run  wild.  — James  Allen. 

Metaphor.  —  A  metaphor  is  a  figure  of  speech  which  applies 
to  an  object  of  one  class  the  name  of  an  object  of  a  different 
class  to  imply  that  the  object  spoken  of  is  the  same  in  essen- 
tial quality  as  the  object  named. 

Metaphor,  like  simile,  is  based  on  resemblance  between  ob- 
jects. The  metaphor,  however,  implies  resemblance,  while 
the  simile  asserts  it. 

Examples : 

Y    I.   Current  events  are  the  records  of  experiments  in  the  laboratory  of 
laboratories  —  the  world.  —  F.  N.  Thorpe. 


342  ■  PRACTICAL    ExXGLISH   COMPOSITION  * 

2.  Knowledge,  in  truth,  is  the  great  sun  in  the  firmament.  Life  and 
power  are  scattered  with  all  its  beams.  —  Webster. 

3.  Labor  to  keep  alive  in  your  breast  that  little  spark  of  celestial  fire  — 
conscience.  — Washington. 

4.  There's  husbandry  in  heaven. 
Their  candles  are  all  out.  —  Shakespeare. 

5.  Rumor  is  a  pipe 
Blown  by  surmises,  jealousies,  conjectures  : 
And  of  so  easy  and  so  plain  a  stop 

That  the  blunt  monster  with  uncounted  beads, 
The  still-discordant  wavering  multitude, 
Can  play  upon  it.  —  Shakespeare. 

6.  Have  I  not  heard  great  ordnance  with  the  field. 

And  heaven's  artillery  thunder  in  the  skies?  —  Shakespeare. 

7.  Come  watch  with  me  the  shaft  of  fire  that  glows, 
In  yonder  West :  the  fair  frail  palaces. 

The  fading  Alps  and  archipelagoes. 

And  great  cloud  continents  of  sunset  seas.  —  Aldrich. 

Personification.  —  Personification  is  a  figure  of  speech  in 
which  life  is  ascribed  to  the  lifeless  or  a  higher  degree  of  life 
to  the  living. 

Examples : 

1.  Memory  standing  near 
Cast  down  her  eyes,  and  in  her  throat 
Her  voice  seemed  distant.  —  Tennyson. 

2.  Grim-visaged  war  hath  smoothed  his  wrinkled  front. — Shakespeare 

3.  Laughter  holding  both  his  sides.  —  Milton. 

4.  The  very  stones  of  Rome  will  rise  in  mutiny.  —  Shakespeare. 

5.  Its  arms  outstretched,  the  druid  wood 
Waits  with  its  benedicite.  —  Lowell. 

6.  The  daisy's  cheek  is  tipped  with  a  blush, 
She  is  of  such  low  degree.  —  Hood. 

Personification  is  of  frequent  occurrence  both  in  speech 
and  in  writing.      It  is  found  most  extensively,  perhaps,  in  the 


FIGTRES   OF   SPFKCH  343 

fable  and  the  allegory.  In  fables  in  which  personification 
occurs,  animals  or  inanimate  objects  are  given  some  char- 
acteristic of  human  nature.  In  allegories,  abstract  ideas  or 
quaUties  are  personified. 

Examples : 

The  Mountain  and  the  Squirrel  {Fable) 

The  mountain  and  the  squirrel 

Had  a  quarrel, 

And  the  former  called  the  latter  "  Little  Prig.'' 

Bun  replied, 

"  You  are  doubtless  very  big, 

But  all  sorts  of  things  and  weather 

Must  be  taken  in  together. 

To  make  up  a  year 

And  a  sphere, 

And  I  think  it  no  disgrace 

To  occupy  my  place. 

If  I'm  not  so  large  as  you, 

You  are  not  so  small  as  I, 

And  not  half  so  spry. 

ril  not  deny  you  make 

A  very  pretty  squirrel  track  ; 

Talents  differ;  all  is  well  and  wisely  put; 

If  I  cannot  carry  forests  on  my  back. 

Neither  can  you  crack  a  nut."  —  Emerson. 

The  Day  {Allegory) 

"Come  with  me,"  said  the  Day,  "and  let  us  do  things  together!"' 

"What  kind  of  things?'"  asked  the  man. 

"Beautiful  things!"  said  the  Day.  "Your  friend  is  sick,  and  a  visit 
from  you  would  give  him  infinite  pleasure.  Also,  it  is  long  since  you  saw 
your  sister,  who  is  poor  and  sorrowful ;  and  on  the  way,  you  might  get 
some  presents  for  her  children,  since  they  have  no  father  to  buy  them  gifts. 
Then,  suppose  we  take  a  walk  in  these  woods,  outside  the  city,  where  you 
and  your  brother  used  to  play!  How  long  is  it  since  you  saw  them?  or 
your  brother?     He  is  back  again,  I  hear,  and  is  minded  to  lead  a  new  life. 


344 


PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 


We  might  go  to  him,  and  take  him  by  the  hand,  and  go  a  few  steps  with 
him      Then  we  might  .   .  .'" 

"What  nonsense  is  all  this?"  cried  the  man.  "These  are  all  things 
that  I  should  like  well  enough  to  do  sometime,  but  not  with  you.  I  ex- 
pect to  make  ten  thousand  dollars  with  your  aid ;  sit  down  with  me  at  the 
desk,  instead  of  talking  idly." 

They  sat  down  together,  and  the  hours  passed.  "By  and  by  it  was  time 
for  the  Day  to  go  on. 

"Good-by!"  she  said. 

"  Oh,  good-by !  "  said  the  man.  "Why  do  you  look  at  me  so  sadly  and 
strangely?  I  mean  to  do  all  those  things  that  you  spoke  of;  I  certainly 
mean  to  do  them  with  one  of  your  sisters." 

"  I  have  no  more  sisters !  "  said  the  Day. 

And  passing  through  the  door  she  met  the  entering  Night. 

—  The  Golden  Windows,  Laura  E.  Richards. 

Other  examples  of  allegory  are :  Spenser's  Faerie  Queene, 
Bunyan's  Pilgrim  s  Progress,  Swift's  Tale  of  a  Tub  and 
Gulliver  s  Travels ^  and  The  Visioft  of  Mirza  and  Luxury 
and  Avarice  in  Addison's  Spectator. 

EXERCISE  n 

In  the  following  selections,  state  in  what  the  personification  consists: 

1.  But  Freedom  walks  unarmed  about  the  isle, 

And  Peace  sits  musing  beside  each  man's  door.  —  Austin. 

2.  Flowers  preach  to  us  if  we  will  hear.  —  Rossetti. 

3.  Oh,  the  little  bird  is  rocking  in  the  cradle  of  the  wind.  —  Dunbar. 

4.  The  sun,  a  snow-blown  traveler,  sank 

From  sight  beneath  the  smothering  bank.  —  Whittier. 

5.  The  forests  with  their  myriad  tongues 

Shouted  of  liberty.  —  Longfellow. 

6.  —  The  streams 

Wake,  laughing  from  their  winter  dreams.  —  Whittier. 

7.  When  breast-plated  March  his  trumpets  blew. 

We  laughed  in  his  face,  till  he  laughed,  too.  — Austin. 

8.  Conscience  is  harder  than  our  enemies, 

Knows  more,  accuses  with  more  nicety.  —  George  Eliot. 


FIGURES   OF   SPEECH  345 

Apostrophe.  —  An  apostrophe  is  a  direct  address  to  the  dead, 
to  the  absent,  or  to  a  personified  object  or  idea. 

Examples : 

1.  O  Captain  !  my  Captain  !  rise  up  and  hear  the  bells  ; 
Rise  up,  for  you  the  flag  is  flung,  for  you  the  bugle  trills. 

—  Whitman. 

2.  Lay  aside  your  cloak,  O  Birch  Tree  ! 
Lay  aside  your  white-skin  wrapper. 
For  the  sun  is  warm  in  heaven, 

And  you  need  no  white-skin  wrapper.  —  Longfellow. 

3.  O  Nature,  how  fair  is  thy  face, 

And  how  light  is  thy  heart !  —  Meredith. 

EXERCISE   III 

Name  the  figures  with  which  apostrophe  is  combined  in   each  of  the 
following  quotations : 

1.  Angel  of  Peace,  thou  hast  wandered  too  long. 

Spread  thy  white  wings  to  the  sunshine  of  love. 
Come  while  our  voices  are  blended  in  song,  — 

Fly  to  our  ark  like  the  storm-beaten  dove  ! —  Holmes. 

2.  Open  afresh  your  round  of  starry  folds, 
Ye  ardent  marigolds  ! 

Dry  up  the  moisture  of  your  golden  lids, 
For  great  Apollo  bids. —  Keats. 

3.  O  herald  skylarks,  stay  thy  flight 
One  moment,  for  a  nightingale 
Floods  us  with  sorrow  and  delight. 
To-morrow  thou  shalt  hoist  the  sail, 

Leave  us  to-night  the  nightingale.  —  Rossetti. 

4.  O  sleep,  O  gentle  sleep. 
Nature's  soft  nurse,  how  have  I  frighted  thee. 
That  thou  no  more  wilt  weigh  my  eyelids  down 

And  steep  my  senses  in  forgetfulness  ?  —  Shakespeare. 

5.  Ivy  !  thy  home  is  where  each  sound 

Of  revelry  hath  long  been  o'er ; 
Where  song  and  beaker  once  went  round, 

But  now  are  known  no  more.  —  Mrs.  Hemans. 


346  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

Metonymy.  —  Metonymy  is  a  figure  of  speech  in  which  an 
object  is  designated  by  the  name  of  another  object  with  which 
it  is  closely  associated. 

Familiar  examples  of  metonymy  are  the  bench,  for  the 
judges  on  the  be?tch;  an  agreement  in  black  and  white,  for  an 
agreement  in  writiyig ;  the  laurel,  for  success;  following  the 
compass,  for  the  ^wrtJi ;  the  House,  for  the  tnembei's  of  the 
House  of  Represe7itatives ;  a  company  of  hoj-se,  for  a  company 
of  Iiorseme7i  ;  the  chair,  for  the  chairma?i  ;  reading  Tennyson, 
for  reading  the  works  of  Tennyson. 

Because  of  the  many  kinds  of  association  between  objects, 
there  are  several  varieties  of  metonymy. 

A  metonymy  may  result  from  the  use  of : 

a.  The  sign  for  the  thing  signified. 

l/^  Example :  They  fled  to  the  stars  and  stripes  for  protection. 

b.  The  container  for  the  thing  contained. 

Examples :  The  kettle  boils. 

A  beehive\s  hum  shall  sooth  my  ear.  —  Rogers. 

c.  The  cause  for  the  effect  or  the  effect  for  the  cause. 

Examples : 

1.  Have  we  not  Shakespeare  ?     Is  not  Johnson  ours  ?  —  Churchill. 

2.  Ambition  has  but  one  reward  for  all.  —  Winter. 

3.  His  silver  hairs 
Will  purchase  us  a  good  opinion, 

And  buy  men's  votes  to  commend  our  deeds.  —  Shakespeare. 

d.  The  material  for  the  object  made  from  it. 

Examples : 

1,  The  English  oak  commands  the  flood.  —  Churchill. 

2.  Arrayed  in  purple  and  fine  linen. 

e.  The  instrument  for  the  agent. 

t«     /"^Example:     The  ballot  is  a  mighty  weapon. 


FIGURES  OF   SPEECH  34 


EXERCISE  IV 


State  what  variety  of  metonymy  is  used  in  the  following  quotations : 

1.  Once  more,  ye  sacred  towers, 

Your  solemn  dirges  sound.  —  Holmes. 

2.  With  fire  and  sword  the  country  round 
Was  wasted  far  and  wide.  —  Southey. 

3.  His  home  was  a  freezing  cabin.  —  Holmes. 

4.  Then  here's  to  our  boyhood,  its  gold  and  its  gray.  —  Holmes. 

5.  But  without  bell  or  book  they  buried  the  farmer  of  Grand  Prd. 

—  Longfellow. 

6.  Ye  banks  and  braes  o'  bonnie  Doon 

How  can  ye  bloom  sae  fresh  and  fair?  —  BURNS. 

7.  By  torch  and  trumpet  fast  arrayM 

Each  horseman  drew  his  battle-blade.  — Campbell. 

8.  Our  sacred  hearths  shall  burn  eternally.  — Lovelace. 

9.  Give  every  man  thy  ear,  but  few  thy  voice.  —  Shakespeare. 
10.    Strike  for  your  altars  and  your  fires.  —  Halleck. 

Synecdoche.  —  Synecdoche  is  a  figure  of  speech  in  which 
the  whole  is  used  to  designate  a  part  or  a  part  to  designate 
the  whole. 

Synecdoche,  like  metonymy,  is  based  not  upon  resemblance 
between  objects  but  upon  relations  between  objects. 

Examples  : 

1 .  Uneasy  lies  the  /tead  that  wears  a  crown.  —  Shakespeare. 

2.  The  W(7r/^  knows  his  worth. 

EXERCISE  V 

Point  out  the  synecdoche  in  each  of  the  following  quotations : 

1 .  WeVe  lived  since  then  in  calm  and  strife 
Full  fifty  summers,  a  sailor's  life.  —  Proctor. 

2.  Heavily  closed,  with  a  jarring  sound,  the  valves  of  the  barn  doors. 

—  Holmes. 

3.  She,  wretched  matron,  forced  in  age,  for  bread, 

To  strip  the  brook  with  mantling  cresses  spread.  —  Goldsmith. 

4.  The  Scottish  foe  has  fired  his  tent.  —  Scott. 


348  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

5.  Every  day  brings  a  ship, 

Every  ship  brings  a  word ; 
Well  for  those  who  have  no  fear, 
Looking  seaward  well  assured 
That  the  word  the  vessel  brings 
Is  the  word  they  wish  to  hear,  —  Emerson. 

Hyperbole.  —  Hyperbole  is  a  figure  of  speech  in  which  a 
statement  is  made  emphatic  by  exaggeration. 

Examples : 

1.  I  came  like  a  flash  of  lightning,  and  now 
I  depart  like  the  wind.  —  Arnold. 

2.  Why,  man,  if  the  river  were  dry,  I  am  able  to  fill  it  with  tears ;  if  the 
wind  were  down,  I  could  drive  the  boat  with  my  sighs.  —  Shakespeare. 

EXERCISE   VI 

Explain  the  use  of  the  hyperbole  in  the  following  sentences: 

1.  The  brightness  of  her  cheek  would  shame  those  stars 
As  daylight  doth  a  lamp  ;  her  eye  in  heaven 
Would  through  the  airy  region  stream  so  bright 

.   That  birds  would  sing,  and  think  it  were  not  night. 

—  Shakespeare. 

2.  The  Hyrcanian  deserts  and  the  vasty  wilds 
Of  wide  Arabia  —  are  as  throughfares  now 

For  princes  to  come  view  fair  Portia,  —  Shakespeare, 

3.  Ev'n  the  slight  harebell  raised  its  head 
Elastic  from  her  airy  tread.  —  Scott. 

4.  There  is  the  sweet  music  here,  that  softer  falls 

Than,  petals  from  blown  roses  on  the  grass. 
Or  night  dews  on  still  waters  between  walls 

Of  shadowy  granite  in  gleaming  pass.  —  Tennyson. 

Vividness  and  force  are  given  to  thought  not  only  by  the 
use  of  figures  of  speech,  but  also  by  the  use  of  imitative  words 
or  phrases  and  of  special  constructions  somewhat  similar  in 
effect  to  figures  of  speech. 


FIGURES   OF   SPEECH  349 

Onomatopceia  is  a  form  of  speech  in  which  words  suggest 
their  meaning  by  their  sound. 

Examples : 

1.  The  crickets  tr^/rr/// in  the  hearth, 
The  crackling  fagot  flies.  —  Goldsmith. 

2.  The  contrast  strong 

Then  plunge  along 
As  if  a  war  waging 

Its  caverns  and  rocks  among: 
Collecting,  projecting. 
Receding  and  speeding. 
And  shocking  and  rocking 
And  darting  and  parting. 
And  threading  and  spreading, 
And  whizzing  and  hissing. 
And  dripping  and  skipping. 
And  hitting  and  spitting. 
And  shining  and  twining, 
And  rattling  and  battling, 
And  shaking  and  quaking, 
And  pouring  and  roaring. 
And  tossing  and  crossing. 
And  flowing  and  going, 
And  running  and  stunning. 
And  foaming  and  roaming. 

—  The  Cataract  of  Lodore,  Southey. 

Alliteration.  —  Alliteration  is  the  use  of  a  succession  of 
words  beginning  with  the  same  sound  and  usually  with  the 
same  letter. 

Alliterative  words  may  succeed  one  another  immediately  or 
they  may  be  separated  by  words  of  slight  importance. 

Examples : 

I.         High  flames  the  frequent  fire.  —  Southey. 

3.         Alone,  alone,  all,  all  alone. 

Alone  on  a  wide,  wide  sea.  —  Coleridge. 


350  PRACTICAL  i:\(.Lisn  c().MiM)sn  io\ 

Antithesis. — Antithesis  is  a  form  of  expression  in  which 
contrast  in  thought  is  emphasized  by  the  use  of  contrasted 
words,  phrases,  or  clauses. 

Examples : 

1.  I'd  rather  laugh,  a  bright-haired  boy, 
Than  reign  a  gray-beard  king.  —  Holmes. 

2.  Teach  us  like  thee,  in  various  temper  wise, 
To  fall  with  dignity,  with  temper  rise ; 
Famed  by  thy  converse,  happily  to  steer 

From  grave  to  gay,  from  lively  to  severe.  —  Pope. 

3.  Not  that  I  loved  C«£sar  less,  but  that  I  loved  Rome  more. 

—  Shakespeare. 

The  contrast  may  be  emphasized  by  a  parallel  arrange- 
ment of  the  contrasted  elements;  that  is,  contrasted  thoughts 
may  be  expressed  in  like  constructions  placed  in  the  same 
relative  positions  in  the  sentence. 

Examples  of  antithesis  with  parallel  arrangement : 

1.  Give  every  man  thy  ear,  but  few  thy  voice ; 

Take  each  man's  censure,  but  reserve  thy  judgment. 

—  Shakespeare. 

2.  Youth  is  full  of  pleasure,  age  is  full  of  care  ; 
Youth  like  summer  morn,  age  like  winter  weather; 
Youth  like  summer  brave,  age  like  winter  bare ; 
Youth  is  full  of  sport,  age's  breath  is  short ; 
Youth  is  nimble,  age  is  lame.  —  Shakespeare. 

Contrast  may  be  expressed  without  parallel  arrangement. 

Examples  of  antithesis  without  parallel  arra>tgement : 

1.  Anger's  my  meat ;  I  sup  upon  myself, 

And  so  shall  starve  with  feeding.  —  Shakespeare. 

2.  O  dark,  dark  amid  the  blaze  of  morn  ; 
Irrecoverably  dark  !  total  eclipse. 
Without  all  hope  of  day.  —  iMilton. 


FIGURES   OF   SPEECH  351 

EXERCISE  VU 

In  the  following  selections  (a)  name  the  contrasted  words,  phrases,  or 
clauses ;  (d)  state  whether  there  is  parallel  arrangement ;  (c)  tell  what 
other  figures  of  speech  are  combined- with  antithesis  : 

I .  At  night  returning,  every  labor  sped. 

He  sits  him  down,  the  monarch  of  a  shed. 

—  Goldsmith. 
.2.  The  hamlet  now  a  city  is, 

Its  log-built  huts  are  palaces.  — Whittier. 

3.  Come,  Peace,  not  like  a  mourner  bowed 
For  honor  lost,  and  dear  ones  wasted, 
But  proud  to  meet  a  people  proud, 

With  eager  eyes  that  tell  of  triumph  tasted.  —  Lowell. 

4.  It  is  better  to  fight  for  the  good  than  to  rail  at  the  ill.  —  Tennyson. 

5.  Errors,  like  straws,  upon  the  surface  flow  ; 

He  who  would  search  for  pearls  must  dive  below. 

»  Dryden. 

6.  Guiltiness  will  speak 

Though  tongues  were  out  of  use.  —  Shakespeare. 

7.  Soar  not  too  high,  to  fall :  but  stoop  to  rise.  —  Massinger. 

8.  Truth  forever  on  the  scaffold  ;  wrong  forever  on  the  throne. 

—  Lowell. 

9.  A  falcon,  towering  in  her  pride  of  place. 
Was  by  a  mousing  owl  hawk'd  at  and  kiird. 

—  Shakespeare. 

Climax.  —  Climax  is  the  arrangement  of  a  series  of  ideas 
in  the  order  of  increasing  importance. 

Exatnpies : 

1.  I  came,  I  saw,  I  conquered.  —  CiESAR. 

2.  You  stocks,  you  stones,  you  worse  than  senseless  things  ! 

O  you  hard  hearts,  you  cruel  men  of  Rome  !  —  Shakespeare. 

Epigram.  —  Epigram  is  a  pithy  or  antithetical  phrasing  of  a 
shrewd  observation. 


352 


PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 


Examples : 

1.  The  child  is  father  of  the  man. 

2.  Fools  who  came  to  scoff  remained  to  pray. 
3- 


Handsome  is  as  handsome  does. 


The  Rhetorical  Question.  —  The  rhetorical  question  is  an 
expression  of  strong  emotion  in  the  form  of  a  question  to 
which  the  answer  is  obvious  and  to  which  no  reply  is 
expected. 

Examples : 

1.  Must  I  budge  ?  Must  I  observe  you  ?  Must  I  stand  and  crouch 
under  your  testy  humor?  —  Shakespeare. 

2.  What  is  so  rare  as  a  day  in  June  .''  —  Lowell. 

3.  What  matter  how  the  wind  behave  ? 

What  matter  how  the  north  wind  rave  ? — Whittier. 

4.  And  do  you  now  put  on  your  best  attire  ? 
And  do  you  now  cull  out  a  holiday  ? 
And  do  you  now  strew  flowers  in  his  way 

That  comes  in  triumph  over  Pompey's  blood  ?  —  Shakespeare. 

5.  Now,  what  can  England  make  for  the  poor  white  population  of  such 
a  future  empire,  and  for  her  slave  population  ?  What  carpets,  what  linens, 
what  cottons,  can  you  sell  to  them  ?  What  machines,  what  looking- 
glasses,  what  combs,  what  leather,  what  books,  what  pictures,  what  engrav- 
ings ?  You  may  sell  ships  to  a  few,  but  what  ships  can  you  sell  to  two 
thirds  of  the  population  of  poor  whites  and  blacks  ?  —  Beecher. 

6.  Is  this  the  man  who  scourged  or  feasted  kings?  —  Byron. 


Suggestive  Rules 

Rightly  used,  figurative  language  gives  strength  to  speech 
and  to  writing  ;  wrongly  used,  it  makes  thought,  strong  in 
itself,  seem  weak  and  ridiculous. 

Use  figurative  language  only  when  literal  language  fails 
to  express  thought  with  strength  and  vividness. 

When  using  figurative  language : 


FIGURES  OF   SPEECH  353 

a.   Avoid  the  pointing  out  of  resemblances  so  familiar 
as  to  be  commonplace. 

Examples :  "  Fleecy  clouds,"  "  the  river  of  life/'  "  light  as  a  feather," 
"treacherous  as  a  serpent,"  "swift  as  an  arrow,"  "the  ship  of  state." 

d.    Point  out  resemblances  in  only  such  objects  as  may- 
be appropriately  compared, 
(i)    Do  not  compare  the  subUme  with  the  ridiculous. 
(2)    Do  not   compare   a  low  or  degraded  object  with 
an  object  that  is  lofty  or  elevated. 

c.  Maintain  the  comparison  throughout  the  figure. 
(i)   Avoid  mixed  figures. 

Example  :  He  is  a  biting  orator  who  thrusts  hard  and  then  turns  the 
blade  around  two  or  three  times. 

(2)   Avoid   the  combining  of  literal    and    figurative 
language  in  the  expression  of  one  thought. 

Examples :  Washington  was  a  great  general  and  the  father  of  his 
country. 

Mr.  Mann's  address,  like  a  perfect  piece  of  cabinet  work,  or  a  beautiful 
mosaic,  was  sound  in  argument,  noble  in  sentiment,  and  abounding  in  rare 
good  sense. 

d.  Suggest    only    such     associations    or    relations    as 
would  seem  apt  to  the  majority  of  people. 

EXERCISE   VIII 

\  T      Name  and  explain  the  figures  of  speech  in  the  following  passages : 

1.  The  long  hall  glittered  like  a  bed  of  flowers.  —  Tennyson. 

2.  The  world  is  all  gates,  all  opportunities,  strings  of  tension  waiting 
!o  be  struck.  —  Emerson. 

3.  Costly  thy  habit  as  thy  purse  can  buy.  —  ShXkespeare. 

4.  Exult,  O  shores,  and  ring,  O  bells!  —  Whitman. 

5.  And  through  the  glass  the  clothes-line  posts 
Looked  in  like  tall  and  sheeted  ghosts.  —  Whittier. 


354  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

6.  That  world's  earthquake,  Waterloo  I  —  Tennyson. 

7.  Their  welfare  pleased  him,  and  their  care  distressed.  —  Goldsmith. 

8.  The  parson  was  a  little  meager,  black-looking  man,  with  a  grizzled 
wig  that  was  too  wide,  and  stood  off  from  each  ear,  so  that  his  head  seemed 
to  have  shrunk  away  within  it,  like  a  dried  filbert  in  its  shell.  —  Irving. 

9.  Hard  by,  a  cottage  chimney  smokes 
From  betwixt  two  aged  oaks.  —  Milton. 

ID.    Magna  Charta  is  such  a  fellow  that  he  will  have  no  sovereign. — 
Debate  on  the  Co}fu>ions. 

1 1 .  Honor  pricks  me  on.  —  Shakespeare. 

12.  From  the  low  peasant  to  the  lord, 

The  turkey  smokes  on  every  board.  — Gay. 

13.  Through  many  a  gorge  the  bristling  hemlock  crossed, 
Their  spears  above  the  ice-enfettered  brooks.  —  Stedman. 

14.  He  lies  like  a  hedgehog  rolled  up  the  wrong  way. 
Tormenting  himself  with  his  prickles.  —  Hood, 

15.  A  friend  may  well  be  reckoned  the  masterpiece  of  nature. 

—  Emerson. 

16.  His  giant  figure  planted  on  the  sand. 
Sole,  like  some  single  tower,  which  a  chief 
Hath  builded  on  the  waste  in  former  years 
Against  the  robbers.  —  Arnold. 

17.  Just  for  a  handful  of  silver  he  left  us.  —  Browning 

18.  Wild  words  wander  here  and  there.  — Tennyson. 

19.  Old  Time,  in  whose  bank  we  deposit  our  notes, 

Is  a  miser  who  always  wants  guineas  for  groats.  —  Holmes. 

20.  Bright  on  the  banner  of  lily  and  rose, 

Lo!  the  last  sun  of  our  century  rose.  —  Holmes. 

21.  O,  Freedom!  thou  art  not,  as  poets  dream, 

A  fair  young  girl,  with  light  and  delicate  limbs, 

And  wavy  tresses  gushing  from  the  cap 

With  which  the  Roman  master  crowned  his  slave 

When  he  took  off  his  gyves.     A  bearded  man. 

Armed  to  the  teeth,  art  thou;  one  mailed  liand 

Grasping  the  broad  shield,  and  one  the  sword,  thy  brow, 

■     >(^ 


FIGURES   OF   SPEECH 

Glorious  in  beauty  though  it  be,  is  scarred 
With  tokens  of  old  wars.  —  Bryant. 


35^ 


22.  A  ship  comes  foaming  up  the  bay.  —  Holmes. 

23.  Did  make  oflfense,  his  eyes  did  heal  it  up. —  Shakespeare. 

24.  Come  forth,  sweet  stars,  and  comfort  heaven's  heart ; 
Glimmer,  ye  waves,  round  else  unlighted  sands.    -  Lanier. 

25.  England  ne'er  had  a  king  until  his  time, 

His  banish'd  sword  did  blind  men  with  his  beams, 

His  arms  spread  wider  than  a  dragon's  wings ; 

His  sparkling  eyes,  reflete  with  wrathful  fire. 

More  dazzled  and  drove  back  his  enemies 

Than  mid-day  sun  fierce  befit  against  their  faces.  —  Shakespeare. 

26.  Then  to  the  well-trod  stage  anon. 

If  Johnson's  learned  sock  be  on.  —  Milton. 

27.  And  over  all  is  the  sky,  the  clear  and  crystalline  heaven. 
Like  the  protecting  hand  of  God  inverted  above  them. 

—  Longfellow. 

28.  Resolve  will  melt  no  rocks. 

But  it  can  scale  them.  —  Eliot. 

29.  As  the  bird  trims  her  to  the  gale, 

I  trim  myself  to  the  storm  of  time, 

I  man  the  rudder,  reef  the  sail. 

Obey  the  voice  at  eve  obeyed  at  prime ; 

Lowly  faithful,  banish  fear. 

Right  onward  drive  unharmed  ; 

The  port,  well  worth  the  cruise,  is  near,  • 

And  every  wave  is  charmed.  —  Emerson. 

30.  As  in  a  building 
Stone  rests  on  stone,  and  w^anting  the  foundation, 
All  would  be  wanting,  so  in  human  life 

Each  action  rests  on  the  foregoing  event. 

That  made  it  possible,  but  is  forgotten  and  buried  in  the  earth. 

—  Longfellow. 

31.  Every  pine  and  fir  and  hemlock 
Wore  ermine  too  dear  for  an  earl, 
And  the  poorest  twig  on  the  elm  tree 

Was  ridged  inch  deep  with  pearl.  —  Lowell. 


356  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

32.  Night's  son  was  driving 

His  golden-haired  horses  up ; 

Over  the  eastern  firths 

High  flashed  their  manes.  —  Kingsley. 

33.  Hear  it  not,  ye  stars! 

And  thou,  pale  moon  !  turn  paler  at  the  sound.  — Young. 

34.  Not  a  sail  returning  will  she  loose.  —  Larcom. 

35.  November's  sky  is  chill  and  drear.  —  Scott. 

36.  The  steed  along  the  drawbridge  flies. 
Just  as  it  trembled  on  the  rise  ; 

Nor  lighter  does  the  swallow  skim 

Along  the  smooth  lake's  level  brim.  —  ScoTT. 

37.  Lift  up  your  heads,  O  ye  gates  ; 

And  be  ye  lifted  up  ye  everlasting  doors  ; 
and  the  King  of  glory  shall  come  in.  —  The  Bible. 

38.  When  Freedom  from  her  mountain  height 

Unfurled  her  standard  to  the  air, 
She  tore  the  azure  robe  of  night. 
And  set  the  stars  of  glory  there.  —  Joseph  Drake. 

39.  Last  night,  above  the  whistling  wind, 
I  heard  the  welcome  rain,  — 

A  fusillade  upon  the  roof, 

A  tattoo  on  the  pane  : 

The  keyhole  piped  ;  the  chimney  top 

A  warlike  trumpet  blew.  —  Bret  Harte. 

40.  Be  thou  as  lightning  in  the  eyes  of  France.  —  Shakespeare. 

41.  Education  is  a  capital  to  the  poor  man,  and  an  interest  to  a  rich 
man.  —  Horace  Mann. 

42.  Habits,  soft  and  pliant  at  first,  are  like  some  coral  stones,  which  are 
easily  cut  when  first  quarried,  but  soon  become  hard  as  adamant. 

— Spurgeon. 

43.  The  cold  marble  leapt  to  life,  a  God.  — Milman. 

44.  Shall  1  tell  the  fearful  story. 

How  they  surged  above  the  breastwork,  as  a  sea  breaks  over  the 
deck  ?— Holmes. 

45.  Nature  draws  her  random  picture  through  the  year.  —  Stedman. 


FIGURES   OF   SPEECH  357 

46.  What  would  be  the  state  of  the  highways  of  life,  if  we  did  not  drive 
our  thought-sprinklers  through  them,  with  valve  open  sometimes. 

—  Holmes. 

47.  Fame  is  the  spur  that  the  clear  spirit  doth  raise 
(That  last  infirmity  of  noble  mind) 

To  scorn  delights  and  live  laborious  days ; 
But  the  fair  guerdon  when  we  hope  to  find, 
And  think  to  burst  out  into  sudden  blaze, 
Comes  the  blind  Fury  with  the  abhorred  shears, 
And  slits  the  thin  spun  life.  —  Milton. 

48.  But  the  black  Northeaster, 

Through  the  snowstorm  hurled, 
Drives  our  English  hearts  of  oak 

Seaward  round  the  world.  — Kingsley. 

49.  The  everyday  cares  and  duties,  which  men  call  drudgery,  are  the 
weights  and  counterpoises  of  the  clock  of  time,  giving  its  pendulum  a  true 
vibration  and  its  hands  a  regular  motion,  and  when  they  cease  to  hang 
upon  its  wheels,  the  pendulum  no  longer  swings,  the  hands  no  longer 
move,  the  clock  stands  still.  —  Longfellow. 

50.  Hark,  'tis  the  bluebird's  venturous  strain 
High  on  the  old  fringed  elm  at  the  gate  — 
Sweet-voiced,  valiant  on  the  swaying  bough, 
Alert,  elate, 

Dodging  the  fitful  spits  of  snow. 

New  England's  poet-laureate. 

Telling  us  Spring  has  come  again !  —  Aldrich. 

51.  I  have  but  one  lamp  by  which  my  feet  are  guided,  and  that  is  the 
lamp  of  experience.  —  Patrick  Henry. 

52.  Justice  is  like  the  north  star,  which  is  fixed,  and  all  the  rest  revolve 
about  it.  —  Confucius. 

53.  All  the  village  came  out  and  feasted.  —  Longfellow. 

54.  Only  keen  salt  sea  odors  filled  the  air 

Sea  sounds,  sea  odors  —  these  were  all  my  world.  —  Aldrich. 

55.  Our  ideas,  like  orange  plants,  spread  out  in  proportion  to  the  size  of 
the  box  which  imprisons  the  roots.  —  Bulwer  Lytton. 

56.  Years  teach  us  more  than  books.  —  Auerbach. 

57.  His  dress  was  a  volcano  of  silk  with  lava  buttons.  —  Sydney  Smith. 


358  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH    COMPOSITION 

58.  Forever  slaves  at  home  and  fools  abroad.  —  Tennyson. 

59.  O  coward  conscience,  how  dost  thou  afflict  me  ?  —  Shakespeare. 

60.  The  fall  sunrise  of  the  day  which  peculiarly  belongs  to  the  Ameri- 
can people  in  the  progress  of  human  events  has  flooded  all  the  world  at 
last  ;  and  we  will  live  each  golden  moment  of  our  mighty  day  in  a  way  as 
great  as  the  dav  itself.  —  A.  J.  Beveridge. 

61.  On  either  side  the  shoe-deep  dusted  lane 

The  meager  wisps  of  fennel  scorch  to  wire, 
Slow  lags  a  team  that  drags  an  empty  wain, 
And,  creaking  dry,  a  wheel  runs  off  the  tire. 

—  J.  P.  Irvine. 

62.  O'er  night's  brim,  day  boils  at  last, 
Boils,  pure  gold,  o'er  the  cloud-cup's  brim 
Where  spurting  and  suppressed  it  lay, 
For  not  a  froth-flake  touched  the  rim 

Of  yonder  gap  in  the  solid  gray 

Of  the  eastern  cloud,  an  hour  away.  —  Browning. 

63.  Heaven  speed  the  canvas,  gallantly  unfurled, 
To  finish  and  accommodate  a  world, 

To  give  the  pole  the  produce  of  the  sun, 

And  knit  the  unsocial  climates  into  one.  —  Cowper. 

64.  Miles  and  miles  of  gold  and  green 
Where  the  sunflowers  blow 

In  a  solid  glow.  —  Browning. 

65.  Labor,  wide  as  the  earth,  has  its  summit  in  heaven.  —  Carlyle. 

66.  If  every  one  will  sweep  before  his  own  door,  the  street  will  be  clean. 

—  Henry. 

67.  Haste  trips  up  its  own  heels,  fetters,  and  stops  itself.  —  Seneca. 

68.  O  trembling  Faith  !  though  dark  the  morn, 
A  heavenly  torch  is  thine.  —  Holmes. 

69.  October  is  the  treasure  of  the  year. 

And  all  the  months  pay  bounty  to  her  store. 

The  fields  and  orchards  still  their  tribute  bear. 

And  fill  her  brimming  coffers  more  and  more.  —  Dunbar. 

70.  Enthusiasm  is  the  leaping  lightning,  not  to  be  measured  by  the 
horse  power  of  the  understandim^'.  —  1^mi:ks(^n. 


FIGURES  OF   SPEECH  359 

71.  The  season  brimmed  all  other  things  up 

Full  as  the  rain  fills  the  pitcher-planfs  cup.  —  Lowell. 

72.  A  man's  manners  are  a  mirror,  in  which  he  shows  his  likeness  to 
an  intelligent  observer,  —  Goethe. 

73.  Such  a  noise  arose 

As  the  shrouds  make  at  sea  in  a  stiff  tempest, 

As  loud  and  to  as  many  tunes,  —  hats,  cloaks, 

Doublets,  I  think  flew  up  ;  and  had  their  faces 

Been  loose,  this  day  they  had  been  lost.  —  Shakespeare. 

74.  Alas  !  you  know  the  cause  too  well ; 
The  salt  is  spilt,  to  me  it  fell.  —  Gay. 

75.  Each  wave  was  crested  with  tawny  foam, 
Like  the  mane  of  a  chestnut  steed.  —  ScOTT. 

76.  Like  heath-bird,  when  the  hawks  pursue, 

A  barge  across  Loch  Katrine  flew.  —  Scott. 


CHAPTER   XIII 
POETIC  FORM 

A  COMPOSITION  which  has  as  its  main  purpose  the  arousing 
of  emotions  or  the  satisfying  of  the  aesthetic  sense,  that  is, 
the  satisfying  of  an  appreciation  of  beauty  of  thought  or  of 
form,  is  often  expressed  in  verse. 

Verse.  —  Verse  is  such  a  choice  and  arrangement  of  words 
as  results  in  an  accented  syllable  occurring  at  fixed  intervals. 

The  interval  between  two  accented  syllables  may  consist  of 
one  unaccented  syllable  or  of  two  unaccented  syllables  accord- 
ing to  the  kind  of  verse. 

Rhythm.  —  The  regular  recurrence  of  accented  and  unac- 
cented syllables  is  rhythm. 

The  Poetic  Foot.  —  An  accented  syllable  with  its  accom- 
panying unaccented  syllable  or  syllables  is  called  a  poetic 
foot.  Poetic  feet  differ  in  the  relative  position  of  the  accented 
and  unaccented  syllables. 

The  Trochee.  —  A  poetic  foot  which  consists  of  an  accented 
syllable  followed  by  one  unaccented  syllable  is  a  trochee,  or 
trochaic  foot.     For  example, 

Come,  and  |  trip  it,  |  as  you  |  go,  | 

On  the  I  light  fantastic  ]  toe.  | 

—  L'AlUgro,  Milton. 

The  Dactyl.  — A  poetic  foot  which  consists  of  an  accented 
syllable  followed  by  two  unaccented  syllables  is  a  dactyl,  or 
dactyllic  foot.     For  example, 

360 


POETIC   FORM  361 

Nothing  was  |  heard  in  the  j  room  but  the  I  hurrying  |  pen  of  the  [  stripling,  | 

Or  an  ocicasional  |  sigh  from  the  |  laboring  |  heart  of  the  |  Captain.  | 

—  Miles  Standish,  Longfellow. 

The  Iambus.  —  A  poetic  foot  which  consists  of  an  accented 
syllable  preceded  by  one  unaccented  syllable  is  an  iambus, 
or  iambic  foot.     For  example, 


\j 


Thy  voice  |  is  heard  |  thro^  roll|ing  dmms,  | 

That  beat  |  to  bat | tie  where  |  he  stands;  | 

\j      \j  —         w    \j       

Thy  face  |  across  |  his  fan|cy  comes,  | 

\J  \J        W     \J  

And  gives  |  the  bat | tie  to  |  his  hands.  | 

—  The  Princess,  Tennyson. 

The  Anapest.  —  A  poetic  foot  which  consists  of  an  accented 
syllable  preceded  by  two  unaccented  syllables  is  an  anapest, 
or  anapestic  foot.     For  example. 

Shall  the  harp  |  then  be  si | lent  when  he,  |  who  first  gave  | 

To  our  coun|try  a  name,  |  is  withdrawn  |  from  all  eyes?  | 

—  Shall  The  Harp  Then  Be  Silent  ?  MoORE. 

The  Amphibrach.  —  A  poetic  foot  which  consists  of  an 
accented  syllable  preceded  by  one  unaccented  syllable  and 
followed  by  another  unaccented  syllable  is  an  amphibrach. 
For  example, 

\j     .-^  \j        \j     WW  \j        \j       

Flow  gently,  |  sweet  Afton,  \  among  thy  |  green  braes,  j 

Flow  gently,  I  TH  sing  thee  j  a  song  in  j  thy  praise.  | 

—  Burns. 


362  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

The  Spondee.  —  A  poetic  foot  which  consists  of  two  equally 
accented  syllables  is  a  spondee.     For  example, 

Hark,  nTrk! 

The  Pyrrhic  Foot.  —  A  poetic  foot  which  consists  of  two 
unaccented  syllables  is  a  pyrrhic  foot.  This  is  found  most 
commonly  at  the  end  of  a  verse  ;  as,  for  example,  the  last  foot 
in  the  second  and  fourth  of  the  following  verses  : 

V^  W  \^        V-'  

What  wert  |  thou,  maid?  |  — thy  life  |  — thy  name,  | 

Obli|vion  hides  |  in  mys|tery  ;  | 

<<j  \j      —        w        \j         

Though  from  |  thy  face  |  my  heart  |  could  frame  | 

w      ^J    ^^     <J  \J 

A  long  I  roman|tic  hisjtory.  | 

—  Campbell. 

A  Verse. — Verse  is  so  composed  that  while  one  poetic 
foot  sometimes  forms  a  single  line,  or  a  verse,  a  verse  usually 
consists  of  several  poetic  feet. 

Monometer.  —  A  verse  that  consists  of  one  poetic  foot  is 
called  monometer.     For  example, 

Tolling. 

Dimeter.  —  A  verse  that  consists  of  two  poetic  feet  is  called 
dimeter.     For  example, 

Into  the  I  moonlight  j 

w     v^  

Whiter  than  |  snow  | 

\y    \y         w     v^ 

Waving  so  |  flower-like  | 

When  the  winds  |  blow. 

—  T/u:  Ffltintain,  Lowell. 


POETIC   FORM  363 

Trimeter.  —  A  verse  that  consists  of  three  poetic  feet  is 
called  trimeter.     For  example, 

v^  \^     "^  

Once  in  |  a  goI|den  hour  | 

I  cast  I  to  earth  |  a  seed.  | 

w        —      w     — 

Up  I  there  came  |  a  flower,  | 

w     \y     w     — 

The  peo|ple  said,  |  a  weed.  | 

—  T/ie  Flower^  Tennyson. 

Tetrameter.  —  A  verse  that  consists  of  four  poetic  feet  is 
called  tetrameter.     For  example, 

\J  \u  \J         w     

How  sleep  |  the  brave,  |  who  sink  |  to  rest  | 

By  all  1  their  counjtry's  wishjes  blest!  | 

—  Ode^  Collins. 

Pentameter.  —  A  verse  that  consists  of  five  poetic  feet  is 
called  pentameter.     For  example, 

111  fares  |  the  land  |  to  has|tening  ills  |  a  prey,  | 

Where  wealth  |  accum|ulates  |  and  men  |  decay.  | 

—  The  Deserted  Village^  Goldsmith. 

Hexameter.  —  A  verse  that  consists  of   six   poetic  feet  is 
called  hexameter.     For  example, 

\J    \J  V^  \J  WV_/  \J      KJ  \J 

Pleasantly  |  rose  next  |  morn  the  |  sun  on  the  |  village  of  |  Grand  Pr^.  | 

Occasionally,  a  writer  chooses  to  use  even  a  longer  line 
than  the  hexameter,  as  in  the  following  verses, 

\J  \J  \J        \J  \J        w  w  

Yet  I  I  doubt  not  [  through  the  |  ages  |  one  in|creasing  |  purpose  |  runs,  | 

\J  \J  W  KJ  KJ  V>  V^  

And  the'l  thoughts  of  |  men  are  |  widened  |  with  the  |  process  |  of  the  |  suns.  | 

—  Locksley  Hall,  Tennyson. 


364  PRACTICAL    ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

The  Naming  of  Verse.  —  A  verse  is  named  by  the  kind  of 
poetic  foot  that  prevails  in  it  and  by  the  number  of  poetic 
feet  that  it  contains.  For  example,  a  verse  that  consists  of 
five  iambic  feet  is  called  iambic  pentameter ;  a  verse  that 
consists  of  four  trochaic  feet  is  called  trochaic  tetrameter ; 
a  verse  that  consists  of  two  anapests  is  called  anapestic 
dimeter.  If  the  kind  of  foot  in  verse  varies,  as  it  often  does, 
it  is  necessary  to  read  enough  of  a  poem  to  determine  the 
kind  of  foot  that  prevails  and  so  gives  name  to  the  verse. 

The  Relation  of  Rhythm  to  Thought.  —  The  kind  of  verse 
to  be  used  in  any  given  case  depends  entirely  upon  the 
nature  of  the  subject  and  the  kind  of  thought  to  be  expressed. 

The  Effect  of  Rhythm  Suited  to  Thought.  —  A  rhythm  that 
exactly  suits  the  thought  greatly  strengthens  the  effect  of  a 
poem,  as  in  the  following  examples : 

Where  the  bee  sucks,  there  suck  I : 

In  a  cowslip's  bell  I  lie ; 

There  I  couch,  when  owls  do  cry : 

On  the  bat's  back  I  do  fly 

After  summer  merrily. 

Merrily,  merrily,  shall  I  live  now. 

Under  the  blossom  that  hangs  on  the  bough  ! 

—  Shakespeare. 

The  year's  at  the  spring 
And  day's  at  the  morn  ; 
Morning's  at  seven ; 
The  hillside's  dew-pearled ; 
The  lark's  on  the  wing; 
The  snail's  on  the  thorn  : 
God's  in  his  heaven  — 
All's  right  with  the  world! 

—  Pippa  Passes,  Browning. 

Rockaby,  baby,  upon  the  tree-top ; 

When  the  wind  blows,  the  cradle  will  rock ; 


POETIC    FORM  365 

When  the  bough  breaks,  the  cradle  will  fall, 
And  down  will  come  baby  and  cradle  and  all. 

O  hark,  O  hear !  how  thin  and  clear, 

And  thinner,  clearer,  farther  going  ! 
O  sweet  and  far  from  cliff  and  scar 

The  horns  of  Elfland  faintly  blowing  ! 
Blow,  let  us  hear  the  purple  glens  replying : 
Blow,  bugle;  answer,  echoes,  dying,  dying,  dying. 

—  The  Princess^  Tennyson. 

The  Effect  of  Rhythm  Unsuited  to  Thought.  —  A  rhythm 
that  does  not  suit  the  thought  weakens  the  effect  of  a  poem, 
sometimes  even  to  the  point  of  grotesqueness.  In  the  fol- 
lowing verses,  for  example,  the  rhythm  is  so  unsuited  to  the 
thought  as  to  tend  to  contradict  it : 

Wherever  from  kindred,  torn  rudely  apart, 
Comes  the  sorrowful  wail  of  the  broken  in  heart. 

—  Whittier. 

Variation  in  Rhythm.  —  The  Substituted  Poetic  Foot.  In 
order  that  rhythm  may  be  suited  to  the  thought  to  be  ex- 
pressed, it  often  happens  that  a  verse  must  contain  more  than 
one  kind  of  poetic  foot.     For  example,  in  the  verses, 

Merrily  |  swinging  on  |  brier  and  |  weed, 

Near  to  the  |  nest  of  his  |  little  |  dame, 

\j   \j         \j        \j        

Over  the  |  mountain  |  side  or  |  mead  | 

Robert  of  |  Lincoln  is  |  telling  his  |  name, 

the  prevailing  foot  is  the  dactyl,  yet  in  each  verse  a  one- 
syllabled  or  monosyllabic  foot  is  used  in  place  of  a  dactyl,  i.e., 
is  substituted  for  it,  and  in  the  second  and  third  verses  trochaic 
feet  are  also  substituted.     In  each  case  of  substitution,  how- 


366  PRACTICAI.    KXCilJSIl    COMPOSITION 

ever,  the  relative  position  of  the  accent  remains  the  same, 
and  the  time  given  to  think  or  to  pronounce  the  substituted 
foot  is  the  same  as  that  given  to  any  one  of  the  dactyls. 

Ordinarily,  a  poetic  foot  is  replaced  by  a  foot  of  similar 
accent,  as  a  dactyl  by  a  trochee,  an  anapest  by  an  iambus, 
etc.,  and  there  is  no  change  of  time  or  of  accent  to  interrupt 
the  cadence  of  the  verse.  Yet,  if  there  is  a  marked  change 
in  thought  or  if  emphasis  demands  it,  a  foot  of  one  accent 
may  be  replaced  by  a  foot  of  opposite  accent,  as  an  iambus 
by  a  trochee,  etc. 

Hypercatalectic  Verse.  —  Sometimes,  variation  in  rhythm 
results  from  the  use  of  an  extra  syllable  in  a  verse,  as  in  the 
first  and  third  verses  of  the  following  : 

O  larks,  |  sing  out  |  to  the  thrush|es, 

\y  \y     w    v^     

And  thrush |es,  sing  |  to  the  sky!  | 

\^         KJ         w    v^        

Sing  I  from  your  nests  |  in  the  bush|es, 
And  sing  |  wherev|er  you  fly.  | 

A  verse  of  this  kind,  /.r.,  a  verse  which  contains  a  syllable 
more  than  is  required  by  its  meter,  is  said  to  be  hypercatalectic 
verse. 

Catalectic  Verse.  —  Sometimes  vawation  in  rhythm  results 
from  omitting  from  a  verse  one  or  two  syllables  of  the  num- 
ber required  by  the  meter,  as  in  the  fourth  verse  of  the  follow- 
ing selection : 

\J  \J        \J  v^  

Men  loud  |  against  |  all  forms  |  of  power —  | 

\j  \j  \^    —      w  — 

Unfurl nish'd  brows,  |  tempes|tuous  tongues  — 

Expect|ing  all  |  things  in  |  an  hour —  | 


Brass  mouths  I  and  irlon  lungs! 


—  Freedom,  Tennyson 


POETIC   FORM  367 

A  verse  of  this  kind,  i.e.,  a  verse  which  lacks  one  or  two 
of  the  syllables  necessary  to  make  up  the  exact  number  re- 
quired by  its  meter,  is  said  to  be  catalectic  verse. 

Acatalectic  Verse.  —  A  verse  which  consists  of  the  exact 
number  of  syllables  required  by  its  meter  is  said  to  be  acatalectic 
verse. 

The  Suppression  of  Syllables.  —  Sometimes  an  extra  sylla- 
ble in  a  verse  must  be  slighted  or  suppressed  for  the  sake  of 
the  rhythm,  as  in  the  second  foot  of  the  following  selection  : 

\J     \J  V^  \J  \^         

O  Pa|triot  States] man,  be  |  thou  wise  |  to  know  | 

\j     ^u  \^ w       \j       

The  lim|its  of  |  resis|tance,  and  |  the  bounds  | 

Deter|mining  |  conces|sion,  still  |  be  bold  | 

w    w w         \j    \^      

Not  on|ly  to  |  slight  praise  |  but  suf|fer  scorn.  | 

—  To  the  Duke  of  Argyle^  Tennyson. 

\^  

Slurring.  —  In  the  foot  triot  States,  in  the  stanza  above,  the 

vowel  /  is  slighted  and  combined  with  ot ;  i.e.,  it  is  slurred, 
to  give  the  proper  accent  and  cadence  to  the  foot. 

Elision.  —  In  the  following  verse  the  suppression  in  the 
first  foot  takes  place  in  a  somewhat  different  way: 

The  applause  |  of  Iis|tening  sen|ates  to  |  command.  | 

Here  the  vowel  e  is  omitted,  or  elided,  and  the  ///  is  com- 
bined with  the  ap  to  make  one  syllable. 

The  slighting  of  a  vowel  within  a  word  is  called  slurring. 

The  suppression  of  a  vowel  at  the  end  of  a  word  is  called 
elision. 

Whatever  the  thought  to  be  expressed,  such  rhythm  and 
such  variation  in  rhythm  must  be  used  as  is  best  suited  to 
express  the  thought. 


368  PRACTICAL    ENGLISH    COMPOSITION 

The  Cesura.  —  In  reading  verse  the  sense  often  requires  a 
break  or  pause  in  the  middle  of  a  foot,  especially  when  the 
middle  of  a  foot  is  the  end  of  a  word.  For  example,  in  the 
following  verses, 


^      \j 


Hark!  |  they  vvhisiper:  ilan|gels  say,  | 

\y     —  w        —  ^  — 

Sis|ter  spir|it,  II  come  |  away,  | 

after  whisper  and  after  spirit  there  is  a  break  in  the  sense 
which  causes  a  pause,  or  cesura. 

The  cesura  is  often  found,  as  in  this  selection,  near  the 
middle  of  a  verse,  but  it  may  come  anywhere  in  the  verse,  or 
it  may  be  entirely  lacking. 

Scansion.  —  The  reading  of  verse  in  such  a  way  as  to  em- 
phasize the  accented  syllable  of  each  poetic  foot  is  scansion. 

Scan  the  following  selections  Note  the  substituted  feet,  the 
slurred  or  elided  vowels,  and  the  cesural  pauses. 

I  know  the  song  that  the  bluebird  is  singing, 
Out  in  the  apple  tree  where  he  is  swinging. 
Brave  little  fellow !  the  skies  may  be  dreary,  — 
Nothing  cares  he  while  his  heart  is  so  cherry. 

Hark  !  how  the  music  leaps  out  from  his  throat! 
Hark!  was  there  ever  so  merry  a  note  ? 
Listen  awhile,  and  you'll  hear  what  he's  saying, 
Up  in  the  apple  tree,  swinging  and  swaying. 

—  The  Bluebird,  Emily  Huntington  Miller. 

Roll  on,  thou  deep  and  dark  blue  ocean  —  roll  \ 
Ten  thousand  fleets  sweep  over  thee  in  vain. 

—  Apostrophe  to  the  Ocean,  Byron. 

So  light  to  the  croup  the  fair  lady  he  swung. 
So  light  to  the  saddle  before  her  he  sprung. 

—  Lochim>at\  ScQTT. 


POETIC   FORM  369 

He  waved  his  proud  hand,  and  the  trumpets  were  blown. 
The  kettle-drums  clashed,  and  the  horsemen  rode  on, 
Till  on  Ravelston's  cliffs  and  on  Clermiston's  lea 
Died  away  the  wild  war  notes  of  bonnie  Dundee. 

—  The  Bonnets  of  Bonnie  Dundee,  Scott. 

a 

Bird  of  the  wilderness, 

Blithesome  and  cumberless, 
Sweet  be  thy  matin  o'er  moorland  and  lea  ! 

Emblem  of  happiness. 

Blest  is  thy  dwelling-place  : 
Oh,  to  abide  in  the  desert  with  thee  ! 

—  The  Lark,  James  Hogg. 

Break,  break,  break. 
On  thy  cold,  gray  stones,  O  Sea! 
And  I  would  that  my  tongue  could  utter 
The  thoughts  that  arise  in  me. 

—  Break,  Break,  Break^  Tennyson. 

Blessings  on  thee,  little  man. 
Barefoot  boy,  with  cheek  of  tan ! 
With  thy  turned-up  pantaloons. 
And  thy  merry  whistled  tunes ; 
With  thy  red  lip,  redder  still. 
Kissed  by  strawberries  on  the  hill ; 
With  the  sunshine  on  thy  face, 
Through  thy  torn  brim's  jaunty  grace ; 
From  my  heart  I  give  thee  joy : 
I  was  once  a  barefoot  boy ! 

—  The  Barefoot  Boy,  Whittier. 

Once  upon  a  midnight  dreary,  while  I  pondered,  weak  and  weary, 
Over  many  a  quaint  and  curious  volume  of  forgotten  lore  — 

While  I  nodded,  nearly  napping,  suddenly  there  came  a  tapping, 
As  of  some  one  gently  rapping,  rapping  at  my  chamber  door. 

—  The  Raven,  Poe. 

I  am  monarch  of  all  I  survey ; 

My  right  there  is  none  to  dispute ; 


370  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

From  the  center  all  round  to  the  sea 
I  am  lord  of  the  fowl  and  the  brute. 

O  Solitude !  where  are  the  charms 
That  sages  have  seen  in  thy  face? 

Better  dwell  in  the  midst  of  alarms, 
Than  reign  in  this  horrible  place. 

—  The  Soliloquy  of  Alexander  Selkirk^  Cowper. 

Rhyme.  —  The  effectiveness  of  verse  is  often  increased  by 
the  use  of  rhyme ;  i.e.,  by  the  use  of  a  regular  recurrence  of 
similar  sounds  produced  by  the  use  of  the  same  vowel  sound 
succeeded  in  each  word  by  the  same  consonant  sound  or 
sounds,  but  pi^eceded  by  different  consonant  sounds.  For  ex- 
ample, could,  wood;  viake,  take,  sake,  flake ;  growing,  sow- 
ing;  etc. 

The  Interval  between  Rhymes.  —  The  interval  between 
rhymes  may  vary,  but  when  it  is  once  estabhshed,  it  should 
be  followed  throughout  a  passage. 

Read  the  following  selections,  noticing  the  different  rhyme 
schemes : 

The  Sun's  rim  dips ;  the  stars  rush  out : 
At  one  stride  comes  the  dark  ; 
With  far-heard  whisper,  o'er  the  sea, 
Off  shot  the  specter-bark. 

We  listened  and  looked  sideways  up ! 

Fear  at  my  heart,  as  at  a  cup, 

My  life-blood  seemed  to  sip  ! 

The  stars  were  dim.  and  thick  the  night, 

The  steersman's  face  by  his  lamp  gleamed  white; 

From  the  sails  the  dew  did  drip  — 

Till  clomb  above  the  eastern  bar 

The  horned  Moon,  with  one  bright  star 

Within  the  nether  tip. 

—  The  Ancient  Mariner,  Coleridge. 

Can  storied  urn  or  animated  bust 

Back  to  its  mansion  call  the  fleeting  breath  ? 


POETIC    FORM  371 

Can  Honor's  voice  provoke  the  silent  dust, 
Or  Flatt'ry  soothe  the  dull  cold  ear  of  death  ? 

—  Elegy  Written  in  a  Cotmtry  Churchyard^  Gray. 

I  held  it  truth,  with  him  who  sings 

To  one  clear  harp  in  divers  tones. 

That  men  may  rise  on  steppin<^-stones 
Of  their  dead  selves  to  higher  things. 

—  hi  Memorial,  Tennyson. 

Blank  Verse.  —  Verse  without  rhyme  is  blank  verse.  It 
is  usually,  though  not  always,  in  iambic  pentameter  measure. 
It  is  dignified  and  sustained  in  tone,  and  is  especially  suited 
to  the  expression  of  lofty,  solemn,  or  heroic  thought. 

Read  the  following  selections,  noticing  the  value  of  the 
form  in  expressing  the  thought : 

The  quality  of  mercy  is  not  strain'd,  — 

It  droppeth  as  the  gentle  rain  from  heaven 

Upon  the  place  beneath  :  it  is  twice  blest,  — 

It  blesseth  him  that  gives  and  him  that  takes : 

'Tis  mightiest  in  the  mightiest ;  it  becomes 

The  throned  monarch  better  than  his  crown ; 

His  scepter  shows  the  force  of  temporal  power, 

The  attribute  to  awe  and  majesty. 

Wherein  doth  sit  the  dread  and  fear  of  kings ; 

But  mercy  is  above  this  sceptred  sway ; 

It  is  enthroned  in  the  hearts  of  kings, 

It  is  an  attribute  to  God  himself; 

And  earthly  power  doth  then  show  likest  God's 

When  mercy  seasons  justice. 

—  The  Merchaiit  of  Venice,  Shakespeare. 

Then  rose  the  King  and  moved  his  host  by  night, 
And  ever  push'd  Sir  Modred,  league  by  league. 
Back  to  the  sunset  bound  of  Lyonnesse  — 
A  land  of  old  upheave n  from  the  abyss 
By  fire,  to  sink  into  the  abyss  again  ; 
Where  fragments  of  forgotten  peoples  dwelt, 


372  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

And  the  long  mountains  ended  in  a  coast 

Of  ever-shifting  sand,  and  far  away 

The  phantom  circle  of  a  moaning  sea. 

There  the  pursuer  could  pursue  no  more ; 

And  he  that  fled  no  further  fly  the  King; 

And  there,  that  day  when  the  great  light  of  heaven 

Burned  at  his  lowest  in  the  rolling  year, 

On  the  waste  sand  by  the  waste  sea  they  closed. 

—  The  Passing  of  Arthur^  Tennyson. 

The  Stanza.  —  Sometimes  verse  is  continuous,  as  in  Brown- 
ing's Sordello  or  Milton's  Paradise  Lost,  but  usually  it  is 
divided  into  groups  called  stanzas.  The  length  of  a  stanza 
depends  upon  the  rhyme  and  the  rhythm.  Usually  the 
stanzas  of  the  same  poem  are  alike  in  structure,  though  they 
may  vary. 

The  Couplet. — The  shortest  stanza  is  a  two-verse  stanza, 
or  couplet^  with  end  rhyme.     For  example. 

He  courted  the  eldest  with  glove  and  ring, 
But  he  lo'ed  the  youngest  aboon  a*  thing. 

He  courted  the  eldest  with  brooch  and  knife. 

But  he  lo^ed  the  youngest  aboon  his  life.  —  Binnori. 

The  Heroic  Couplet.  —  A  couplet  in  iambic  pentameter 
measure  with  end  rhyme  is  an  heroic  couplet.  The  heroic 
couplet  is  practically  always  found  as  a  part  of  a  long  stanza 
or  of  continuous  verse.     For  example, 

A  man  he  was  to  all  the  country  dear 

And  passing  rich  with  forty  pounds  a  year. 

Remote  from  towns  he  ran  his  godly  race. 

Nor  e'er  had  changed,  or  wished  to  change  his  place ; 

Unskillful  he  to  fawn,  or  seek  for  power, 

By  doctrines  fashioned  to  the  varying  hour ; 

For  other  aims  his  heart  had  learned  to  prize, 

More  bent  to  raise  the  wretched  than  to  rise. 

—  The  Deserted  Village,  Goldsmith. 


POETIC   FORAl  373 

The  Triplet,  or  Tercet.  —  A  three-verse  stanza  is  a  triplet,  or 
tercet.     For  example, 

Dark,  deep,  and  cold  the  current  flows 

Unto  the  sea  where  no  wind  blows, 

Seeking  the  land  which  no  one  knows.  —  Plaint^  Elliot. 

The  Quatrain.  —  One  of  the  most  common  varieties  of 
stanza    is  the  four-verse  stanza,  or  quatrain.     For  example, 

I  murmur  under  moon  and  stars 

In  brambly  wildernesses  ; 
I  linger  by  my  shingly  bars  ; 

I  loiter  round  my  cresses  ; 

And  out  again  I  curve  and  flow 

To  join  the  brimming  river, 
For  men  may  come  and  men  may  go 

But  I  go  on  forever.  —  The  Brook,  Tennyson. 

The  Heroic  Quatrain.  —  A  four-verse  stanza  of  iambic  pen- 
tameter, rhyming  abab,  is  called  an  heroic  quatrain.  For  ex- 
ample, 

The  curfew  tolls  the  knell  of  parting  day. 
The  lowing  herd  winds  slowly  o'er  the  lea. 

The  plowman  homeward  plods  his  weary  way, 
And  leaves  the  world  to  darkness  and  to  me. 

—  Elegy  Written  in  a  Country  Churchyard,  Gray. 

The  Ballad  Stanza.  —  A  four-verse  stanza  in  which  the  first 
and  third  verses  are  iambic  tetrameter  and  the  second  and 
fourth  are  iambic  trimeter  is  called  a  ballad  stanza. 

In  this  stanza,  the  rhyme  scheme  is  usually  abcb.  For 
example, 

Now  let  us  sing,  long  live  the  king ! 

And  Gilpin,  long  live  he  ; 
And  when  he  next  doth  ride  abroad, 

May  I  be  there  to  see  ! 

—  The  Diverting  History  of  John  Gilpin,  Cowper. 


374 


PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 


The  Tennysonian  Stanza.  —  A  four-verse  iambic  tetrameter 

stanza,  rhyming  abba,  is  called  a  Tennysonian  stanza.     For 

example, 

I  envy  not  in  any  moods 

The  captive  void  of  noble  rage. 
The  linnet  born  within  the  cage. 
That  never  knew  the  summer  woods. 

—  In  Memoriatn^  Tennyson. 

The  five-verse  stanza  is  common  in  English  poetry  as  is 
also  the  six-verse  stanza.     For  example. 

Hail  to  thee,  blithe  spirit ! 

Bird  thou  never  wert, 
That  from  heaven,  or  near  it, 

Pourest  thy  full  heart 
In  profuse  strains  of  unpremeditated  art. 

—  To  a  Skylark,  Shelley. 

God  of  our  fathers,  known  of  old  — 

Lord  of  our  far-flung  battle-line  — 
Beneath  whose  awful  Hand  we  hold 

Dominion  over  palm  and  pine  — 
Lord  God  of  Hosts,  be  with  us  yet. 

Lest  we  forget,  lest  we  forget  ! 

—  Recessional,  RuDYARD  Kipling. 

Rhyme  Royal.  —  A  seven-verse  stanza  of  iambic  pentameter, 
rhyming  ababbcc  is  called  rhyme  royal.     For  example, 

O  yonge  fresshe  folkes,  he  or  she, 

In  which  that  love  up  groweth  with  your  age, 

Replyreth  hoom  from  worldly  vanitee. 

And  of  your  herte  upcastesth  the  visage 

To  thilke  god  that  after  his  image 

Yow  made,  and  thinketh  al  nis  but  a  fayre 

This  world,  that  passeth  sone  as  floures  fayre. 

And  loveth  him,  the  which  that  right  for  love 
Upon  a  cros,  our  soules  for  to  beye, 


POETIC   FORM  375 

First  starf,  and  roos,  and  sit  in  hevene  a-bove ; 
For  he  nil  talsen  no  wight,  dar  I  seye, 
That  wol  his  herte  al  hooUy  on  him  leye, 
And  sin  he  best  to  love  is,  and  most  mieke, 
What  nedeth  feyned  loves  for  to  seke  ? 

—  The  Love  Uyifeigned^  Geoffrey  Chaucer. 

The  Spenserian  Stanza.  —  A  stanza  of  nine  verses,  the  first 
eight  of  which  are  iambic  pentameter,  while  the  ninth  is  an 
iambic  hexameter,  or  Alexandrine,  is  a  Spenserian  stanza. 

The  rhyme  scheme  in  this  stanza  is  ababbcbcc.  For  ex- 
ample, 

Arriving  there,  as  did  by  chaunce  befall, 
He  found  the  gate  wide  ope,  and  in  he  rode, 
Ne  stayd,  till  that  he  came  into  the  hall ; 
Where  soft  dismounting,  like  a  weary  lode, 
Upon  the  ground  with  feeble  feet  he  trode, 
As  he  unable  were  for  very  neede 
To  move  one  foote,  but  there  must  make  abode  : 
The  whiles  the  salvage  man  did  take  his  steede, 
And  in  some  stable  neare  did  set  him  up  to  feede. 

—  The  Faerie  Queene^  Spenser. 

The  Sonnet.  —  A  stanza,  in  itself  a  complete  poem  of 
fourteen  iambic  pentameter  verses,  is  a  sonnet.  There  are 
two  kinds  of  sonnet;  the  Italian,  or  Petrarchan,  sonnet  and 
the  English  sonnet. 

The  Italian  sonnet  consists  of  an  octave  with  an  invariable 
rhyme  scheme  of  abbaabba,  and  a  sestet  which  may  rhyme  in 
several  ways,  the  most  common  being  cdecde  or  cdcdcd. 

Examples : 

When  I  consider  how  my  light  is  spent 

Ere  half  my  days  in  this  dark  world  and  wide, 
And  that  one  talent  which  is  death  to  hide 
Lodged  with  me  useless,  though  my  soul  more  bent 

To  serve  therewith  my  Maker,  and  present 


376  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

My  true  account,  lest  he  returning  chide ; 

"  Doth  God  exact  day-labor,  light  denied  ?  " 

I  fondly  ask.     But  Patience,  to  prevent 
That  murmur,  soon  replies,  '•  God  doth  not  need 

Either  man's  work  or  his  own  gifts.     Who  best 

Bear  his  mild  yoke,  they  serve  him  best.     His  state 
Is  kingly  ;  thousands  at  his  bidding  speed 

And  post  o'er  land  and  ocean  without  rest ; 

They  also  serve  who  only  stand  and  wait." 

—  On  his  Blindness^  MiLTON. 

The  world  is  too  much  with  us ;  late  and  soon, 
Getting  and  spending,  we  lay  waste  our  powers : 
Little  we  see  in  nature  that  is  ours ; 
We  have  given  our  hearts  away,  a  sordid  boon! 

This  sea  that  bares  her  bosom  to  the  moon ; 
The  winds  that  will  be  howling  at  all  hours, 
And  are  up-gather'd  now  like  sleeping  flowers; 
For  this,  for  everything,  we  are  out  of  tune ; 

It  moves  us  not.  —  Great  God!     Pd  rather  be 

A  pagan  suckled  in  a  creed  outworn : 

So  might  I,  standing  on  this  pleasant  lea, 

Have  glimpses  that  would  make  me  less  forlorn ; 

Have  sight  of  Proteus  rising  from  the  sea ; 

Or  hear  old  Triton  blow  his  wreathed  horn. 

—  The  World,  Wordsworth. 

The  English  sonnet,  which  is  considered  less  artistically 
perfect  than  the  Italian  sonnet,  consists  of  three  quatrains 
and  a  couplet,  the  rhyme  scheme  being  usually  ababcdcd 
efefgg.     For  example. 

From  you  have  I  been  absent  in  the  spring, 

When  proud-pied  April,  dressed  in  all  his  trim, 

Hath  put  a  spirit  of  youth  in  everything. 

That  heavy  Saturn  laugh'd  and  leaped  with  him. 

Yet  nor  the  lays  of  birds,  nor  the  sweet  smell 

Of  different  flowers  in  odor  and  in  hue. 

Could  make  me  any  summer's  story  tell. 

Or  from  their  proud  lap  pluck  them  where  they  erew ; 


POETIC   FORJVl  377 

Nor  did  1  wonder  at  the  Lily's  white, 

Nor  praise  the  deep  vermiHon  in  the  Rose ; 

They  were  but  sweet,  but  figures  of  dehght, 

Drawn  after  you,  you  pattern  of  all  those. 
Yet  seemed  it  Winter  still,  and,  you  away, 
As  with  your  shadow  I  with  these  did  play. 

—  Shakespeare. 

Poetry.  —  Rhythmical  language  which  expresses  "  the  in- 
vention, taste,  thought,  passion,  and  insight  of  the  human 
soul "  is  poetry. 

Kinds  of  Poetry.  —  Poetry  may  be  narrative,  dramatic,  or 
lyric  in  nature. 

Narrative  Poetry.  —  Narrative  poetry  is  poetry  which  re- 
counts an  event  or  a  series  of  events.  It  takes  several  forms, 
such  as  the  epic,  the  metrical  romance,  the  metrical  tale,  the 
ballad,  the  pastoral,  or  idyl. 

The  Epic.  —  An  epic  is  a  narrative  poem  which  recounts 
in  stately  verse  the  deeds  of  a  hero  or  of  a  demi-god.  Some  ex- 
amples are  Beowulf,  Homer's  Odyssey,  Milton's  Paradise  Lost. 

The  Metrical  Romance.  —  The  metrical  romance  is  a  nar- 
rative poem  shorter  and  less  formal  in  style  than  the  epic 
as  well  as  less  lofty  in  subject  matter.  Scott's  Lady  of  the 
Lake  and  Marmiofi,  Longfellow's  Eva7tgeli?ie  and  Miles 
Standishy  are  examples. 

The  Metrical  Tale.  —  The  metrical  tale  is  a  short,  simple 
narrative  poem.  Longfellow's  Tales  of  a  Wayside  Inn  and 
Chaucer's  Canterbury  Tales  are  well-known  examples. 

The  Ballad.  —  The  ballad  is  a  short,  condensed,  rapid 
narrative  poem  adapted  for  recitation  or  singing.  Some 
examples  are  Chevy  Chase,  the  Robin  Hood  Ballads,  The 
Wreck  of  the  Hesperus. 

The  Pastoral.  —  A  pastoral  poem  is  a  narrative  poem  that 
presents  country  life  and  scenes  ;  Goldsmith's  Deserted  Vil- 
lage and  Burns's  Cotter's  Saturday  Night  are  examples. 


378  PRACTICAL    i:X(;iJSII    COMPOSITION 

The  Idyl.  —  An  idyl  is  properly  a  short  pastoral  poem, 
highly  finished  in  form.  The  Idyls  of  Theocritus  are  famous 
examples. 

Dramatic  Poetry.  —  Dramatic  poetry  is  poetry  intended  to 
be  acted  on  the  stage.  There  are  two  great  classes,  tragedy 
and  comedy. 

Tragedy.  —  Tragedy  is  the  form  of  drama  that  deals  with 
the  human  soul  in  such  conflict  with  great  forces  as  must 
end  in  defeat.  Shakespeare's  King  Lear,  Macbeth,  Hamlet, 
and  Othello  are  examples. 

Comedy. — Comedy  is  the  form  of  drama  that  deals  with 
laughable  or  enjoyable  incidents,  the  outcome  of  which  is 
happy.  The  Merchant  of  Venice  and  ^i"  You  Like  It  are 
familiar  examples  of  comedy. 

Comedy  sometimes  takes  the  form  of  the  farce,  the  melo- 
drama, or  the  mask. 

The  Farce.  —  A  farce  is  a  brief  comedy  whose  humor  is 
the  result  of  the  exaggeration  or  the  distortion  of  incidents. 
It  is  extravagant  to  the  point  of  abandonment.  The  Garrot- 
ers  and  Evening  Dress  are  examples. 

The  Melodrama.  —  A  melodrama  is  a  comedy  that  contains 
a  romantic  plot  and  sensational  situations.  With  No  Mother 
to  Guide  Her  is  a  well-known  example.  , 

The  Mask.  —  A  mask  is  a  form  of  comedy  that  in 
England  consisted  of  lyric  poetry  and  declamation  accom- 
panied by  music,  dancing,  and  magnificent  scenic  display. 
Jonson's  Masque  of  Blachiess  and  Masque  of  Queens  and 
Shirley's  Triumph  of  Peace  are  examples. 

Lyric  Poetry.  —  Lyric  poetry  is  poetry  which  expresses  deep 
emotion,  such  as  love,  hate,  jealousy,  fear,  adoration,  sorrow. 
It  was  primarily  intended  to  be  sung  to  the  lyre.  It  takes 
several  forms,  among  which,  besides  the  sonnet,  the  most 
important  are  the  song,  the  hymn,  the  ode,  and  the  elegy. 


POETIC   FORM  379 

The  Song.  —  A  song  is  a  short  poem  intended  to  be  sung. 
Songs  may  be  either  sacred  or  secular  in  nature.  A  hymn  is 
a  sacred  song  of  praise.  Old  Hundred  and  Lead,  Kindly 
Light  are  examples  of  sacred  songs.  Secular  songs  may  be 
sentimental,  convivial,  or  patriotic  in  theme. 

The  Ode.  —  An  ode  is  a  lyric  which  is  characterized  by  ex- 
altation of  feeling,  dignity  of  theme,  and  complexity  of  struc- 
ture. Among  the  most  famous  odes  are  Shelley's  Ode  to  the 
West  Wind,  Keats's  Ode  to  a  Greciaii  Urn,  Wordsworth's 
Ode  on  the  Intimations  of  hnmortality ,  Lowell's  Commemora- 
tion Ode. 

The  Elegy.  —  An  elegy  is  a  lament  for  the  dead.  Milton's 
Lycidas,  Shelley's  Adonais,  and  Tennyson's  In  Memoriant 
are  the  most  famous  elegies  in  the  EngHsh  language. 


CHAPTER   XIV 
SUPPLEMENTARY  READING 

An  important  part  of  the  work  of  a  student  who  would 
broaden  his  knowledge  is  the  extensive  reading  of  books 
which  have  some  intrinsic  value. 

The  Value  of  a  Book.  —  The  value  of  a  book  may  lie  in  a 
series  of  interesting  incidents,  in  a  well-constructed  plot,  in 
a  character  of  vital  personality,  in  interesting  descriptions  of 
persons  or  places,  in  the  vivid  presentation  of  the  life,  the 
manners,  and  the  customs  of  people  of  modern  or  of  past 
times,  in  an  account  of  the  homes  and  the  habits  of  plants  or 
animals,  or  in  the  clear  explanation  of  scientific  phenomena 
and  the  application  of  natural  forces  in  modern  life.  Every 
book  should  be  read  as  a  whole  for  the  sake  of  getting  the 
point  and  of  getting  in  their  right  relations  the  chief  details 
which  lead  to  the  point. 

Book  Reports.  —  As  a  proof  of  inteUigent  reading,  reports 
should  be  made  at  stated  intervals  upon  books  of  different 
kinds.  A  report  should  state  briefly  the  content  of  a  book, 
and  should  comment  upon  those  phases  of  the  book  which 
give  it  special  value. 

Topics  for  General  Outline.  —  In  stating  the  content  of  a 
short  story  or  of  a  novel,  the  topics  to  be  developed  should 
include : 

1.  The  outline  of  the  story;  i.e..  (a)  the  recounting  in  sequence  of  the 

chief  events  which  lead  to  the  point  ;   (d)  the  stating  of  the  conclusion . 

2.  The  naming  of  the  characters  : 

a.    The   principal  characters ;  /.<?..  the  characters   who   are    the  chief 
actors  in  the  story. 

380 


SUPPLEMENTARY    READING  381 

b.  The  secondary  characters ;  i.e..,  the  characters  who,  by  at  least  one 

decision,  alter  the  course  of  events  in  the  life  of  one  of  the  chief 
characters  or  in  the  lives  of  more  than  one  of  the  chief  characters. 

c.  The  supernumerary  characters  :    i.e.,  the  characters  who,  while  mak- 

ing no  important  decisions,  perform  the  minor  actions  necessary 
in  developing  the  various  situations  in  the  story. 

3.  The  naming  of  three  important  moments  in  the  life  of  the  most  impor- 

tant of  the  principal  characters,  the  hero  : 

a.  The   moment  of  rising  action  ;    i.e..,  the    moment  when   the  hero 

enters  upon  the  course  of  action  which  is  to  result  in  his  final 
reward  or  punishment. 

b.  The  crisis,  or  turning  point ;    i.e.^  the  moment  when  the  hero  makes 

a  decision  which  commits  him  to  the  course  of  action  which  will 
end  in  his  final  reward  or  punishment. 

c.  The   culmination  :    i.e.,  the  moment  when  the  hero  receives  final 

reward  or  punishment. 

4.  The  statement  as  to  whether  the  book  consists  of  {a)  a  series  of  inci- 

dents which  do  not  show  plot  ;  />.,  do  not  show  an  attempt  by  some 
character  or  characters  to  interfere  with  the  course  of  events  in  the 
life  of  some  other  characters,  or  {b)  a  series  of  incidents  which  show 
plot,  either  (i)  a  simple  plot  or  (2)  a  main  plot  and  one  or  more 
subordinate  plots,  or  subplots. 

Topics  for  Series  of  Incidents.  —  In  commenting  upon  the 
value  of  a  short  story  or  of  a  novel,  when  the  value  of  the 
book  lies  in  a  series  of  interesting  incidents,  the  comment 
should  show : 

I.  Whether  the  characteristic  quality  of  the  incidents,  as  of  novelty,  humor, 
pathos,  tragedy,  etc.,  is  due  {a)  to  the  nature  of  the  incidents  them- 
selves, or  (<^)  to  the  manner  in  which  the  incidents  are  told. 

Topics  for  Plot.  —  When  the  value  of  the  book  lies  in  a 
well-constructed  plot,  the  comment  should  show  : 

.1.    How  the  plot  is  worked  out : 

a.  Whether  the  suspense  is  sustained  throughout. 

b.  Whether  the  culmination  of  the  plot  is  the  reasonable  outcome  of 

the  events  forming  the  plot. 


382  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

c.  Whether  the  culmination  of  the  plot  is  a  surprise. 

d.  Whether  the  culmination  of  the  plot  is  foreshadowed  from  the  mo- 

ment of  rising  action  or  from  the  moment  of  crisis. 

2.  Whether  interest  in  the  plot  centers  {a)   in  incidents  rather  than  in 

people,  {b)  in  incidents  chiefly  as  they  affect  the  welfare  of  some  of 
the  characters. 

3.  Whether  the  plot  is  (a)  probable  or  improbable  ;  i.e.y  whether,  in  actual 

life,  the  same  incidents  would  be  likely  to  take  place  under  similar 
conditions ;  {b)  possible  or  impossible ;  i.e.^  whether,  in  actual  life, 
the  same  incidents  could  take  place  under  similar  conditions. 

4.  Whether  the  plot,  whether  probable  or  improbable,  possible  or  impossi- 

ble, is  consistent ;  i.e.^  not  contradictory  to  the  laws  which  govern  the 
world  in  which  the  events  take  place. 

Topics  for  Character  Study.  —  When  the  value  of  the  book 
centers  in  the  personality  of  the  characters,  the  report  should 
contain  a  discussion  of  important  characters. 

The  estimate  of  the  character  should  be  based  upon  : 

1.  What  the  character  does  and  says  under  the  conditions  which  exist  or 

which  he  believes  to  exist  at  the  moment  when  he  acts  or  speaks. 

2.  What  other  characters  say  of  him. 

3.  The  manner  of  other  characters  toward  him. 

The  estimate  should  show  : 

1.  Whether  or  not  a  character  is  consistent;    /.<?.,  {a)  whether  the  domi- 

nant qualities  and  controlling  motives  of  his  nature  remain  the  same 
throughout  the  book,  even  when,  through  change  of  circumstance  or 
opinion,  he  changes  completely  his  course  of  action ;  or  (^b)  whether 
the  dominant  qualities  remain  the  same,  although,  as  a  result  of  some 
crucial  experience,  the  controlling  motives  change ;  or  {c')  whether, 
as  the  result  of  some  crucial  experience,  the  dominant  qualities,  as 
well  as  the  controlling  motives,  change. 

2.  Whether  or  not  a  character  is  true  to  life;  i.e.^  whether  the  character 

in  a  book  speaks  and  acts  as  a  character  in  real  life  would,  under 
similar  circumstances,  speak  and  act. 

3.  Whether,  as  in  real  life,  a  character  receives  the  due  recompense  for 

his  deeds;  /'.<?.,  either  (<z)  reward,  the  just  and  certain  compensation 


SUPPLEMENTARY    READING  383 

which  a  right  deed  inevitably  brings  to  the  doer  of  the  deed ;  or  {b) 
nemesis,  the  just  and  certain   punishment  which  a  wrong  deed  in 
evitably  brings  upon  the  doer  of  the  deed. 

Topics  for  Descriptive  Elements.  —  When  the  value  of  the 
book  lies  in  the  descriptions  of  persons  and  places,  the  com- 
ment should  show  : 

I.    Whether  the  descriptions  are  interesting  {a)  because  of  the  subjects 
described,  or  {b)  because  of  the  art  of  the  description. 

Topics  for  Life,  Manners,  Customs  of  People.  —  When  the 
value  of  the  book  lies  in  the  information  concerning  the  life, 
the  manners,  and  the  customs  of  people  of  modern  times  or 
of  past  times,  the  comment  should  give : 

1.  A  brief  summary  of  the  manners  and  customs  indicated. 

2.  The  kinds  of  life  of  which  the  manners  and  customs  are  evidence. 

3.  The  ideals  of  which  the  life,  the  manners,  and  the  customs  are  an  ex- 

pression ;  as, 

a.  Ideals  of  social  life,  such  as  friendship,  love,  the  family. 

b.  Practical  ideals,  such  as  road  making,  bridge  building. 

c.  Moral  ideals,  such  as  courage,  truthfulness,  loyalty. 

d.  Religious  ideals,  such  as  loyalty  to  God,  self-sacrifice  for  the  sake 

of  right. 

Topics  for  History,  Mythology,  Biography,  Travel. — His- 
tory, mythology,  biography,  and  travel  are  of  value  (i)  be- 
cause they  portray  characters  of  vital  personality,  (2)  because 
they  give  interesting  descriptions  of  persons  or  places,  or 
(3)  because  they  present  the  life,  the  manners,  and  the  cus- 
toms of  people  of  modern  times  or  of  past  times.  Therefore, 
in  commenting  upon  such  books,  the  suggestions  given  under 
similar  topics  in  connection  with  the  short  story  or  the  novel 
may  be  used. 

Topics  for  Scientific  Works.  —  When  the  chief  value  of  a 
book  lies  in  an  account  of  the  habits  of  plants  or  animals 


384  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

or  in  the  explanation  of  scientific  phenomena  and  the  appli- 
cation of  natural  forces  in  modern  life,  the  comment  should 
show  : 

1.  Whether  the  book  gives  accurate  information. 

2.  Whether  the  book  is  clear  in  explanation. 

3.  Whether  the  book  is  practical  in  suggestion. 


SUPPLEMENTARY   READING    LLST 

The  books  in  the  accompanying  lists  are  of  the  following  classes  : 

A.  Short  Stories. 

B.  Novels. 

C.  Mythology. 

1 .  Myths  of  the  gods,  showing  {a)  their  attributes,  (fi)  their  adventures. 

2.  Myths  of  the  heroes. 

D.  Biography,  History,  and  Travel. 

E.  Books  recounting  Outdoor  Life. 

F.  Natural  Science. 

1.  Accounts  of  habits  of  plants  or  animals. 

2.  Accounts  of  adventures  of  animals. 

3.  Explanation  of  scientific  phenomena  and  accounts  of  the  application 

of  natural  forces  in  modern  life. 


A.   Short  Stories 

Aldrich,  Thomas  Bailf.v  :    Marjorie  Daw. 

Andrews  :    The  Perfect  Tribute. 

Arabian  Nights'  Entertainments  :    Story  of  Ali  Baba  and  the  Forty 

Thieves ;    Story   of  Sindbad,   the   Sailor ;    Story  of  Aladdin,   or  the 

Wonderful  Lamp. 
The  Bible:    The  Offering  Up  of  Isaac,  Gen.  2,  1-19;   Joseph  and  His 

Brethren,   Gen.   37;    Ruth;    David  and  Goliath,    i    Sam.    17,    1-54; 

Esther;  Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abednego,  Dan.  3;   Daniel  and  the 

Lions'  Den,  Dan.  6. 
Brown,  Alice:    Meadow-grass. 
Cable,  George  Washington  :    Old  Creole  Days. 


SUPPLEMENTARY   READING  385 

Clemens,  Samuel  (Mark  Twain)  :    A  Dog's  Tale. 

Connor,  Ralph  :    Glengarry  School  Days. 

Cooke,  Rose  Terry  :    Freedom  Wheeler's  Controversy. 

Daudet,  Alphonse  :    The  Siege  of  Berlin. 

Davis,  Richard  Harding  :   Gallegher ;  The  Bar  Sinister ;  Van   Bibber 

and  the  Swan  Boats. 
Deland,  Mrs.  Margaret  :   Old  Chester  Tales. 
Deming,  Philander  :    Lida  Ann  ;  Tompkins. 

Dickens,  Charles  :    A  Christmas  Carol ;  Dr.  Manette's  Manuscript. 
Doyle,  A.  Conan  :    The  Adventures  of  Sherlock  Holmes. 
Freeman,    Mrs.    Mary    Wilkins  :   A    Humble   Romance ;  A    Village 

Singer ;  The  Revolt  of  Mother. 
French,    Alice      (Octave    Thanet) :     The    Bishop's    Vagabond :    The 

Missionary  Sheriff. 
Hale,  Edward  Everett  :   A  Man  without  a  Country. 
Hardy,  Thomas  :   Wessex  Tales. 

Harte,  Bret  :    The  Luck  of  Roaring  Camp  ;  The  Outcasts  of  Poker  Flat. 
Hawthorne,  Nathaniel:    The  Ambitious  Guest ;  The  Birthmark;  The 

Great  Stone  Face  ;  Rappaccini's  Daughter. 
Irving,  Washington  :    The  Legend  of  Sleepy  Hollow;  Rip  Van  Winkle. 
Jewett,  Sarah  Orne  :    Deephaven  ;  The  White  Heron. 
Kipling,  Rudyard  :    The  Bank  Fraud  ;  The  Man  Who  Would  Be  King  ; 

Wee  Willie  Winkie. 
Longfellow,  Henry  Wadsworth  :    King  Robert  of  Sicily. 
De  Maupassant,  Guy  :   The  Necklace ;  The  String. 
O'Brien,  Fitz-James:    The  Diamond  Lens. 
Page,  Thomas  Nelson  :    Marse  Chan  ;  Meh  Lady. 
Pater,  Walter  :    Demeter  and  Persephone. 
PoE,  Edgar  Allan  :    The  Gold  Bug ;  The  Purloined  Letter. 
Ramee,  Louise  de  la  (Ouida)  :    A  Dog  of  Flanders. 
Robertson,  Harrison  :   How  the  Derby  Was  Won. 
Stevenson,  Robert  Louis  :   Treasure  Island ;  Will  o'  the  Mill. 
Stockton,  Frank  R.  :   The  Lady  or  the  Tiger? 
Tarkington,  Booth  :    Monsieur  Beaucaire. 
Thackeray,  William  Makepeace  :   The  Rose  and  the  Ring. 
Tolstoi  :   The  Angel. 

Ward,  Elizabeth  Stuart  Phelps:   Jonathan  and  David. 
WiSTER,  Owen  :    Twenty  Minutes  for  Refreshments. 
WOOLSON,  CoNSTANCi:  Fenimore  :    Peter,  the  Parson. 


386  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

B.   Novels 

a.  Standard  novels : 

Cooper,  James  Fenimore  :    The  Deerslayer  ;  The  Last  of  the  Mohicans  ; 

The  Pathfinder;  The  Pilot ;  The  Spy. 
Dickens,  Charles:    Oliver  Twist;    Old  Curiosity  Shop;    Martin  Chuz- 

zlewit ;  Pickwick  Papers. 
Dumas,  Alexandre  :    The    Three    Musketeers ;    The   Count   of  Monte 

Cristo  ;  The  Black  Tulip. 
Eliot,  George   (Mary   Ann    Evans)  :    The  Mill  on  the  Floss ;    Adam 

Bede ;  Romola. 
Gaskell,  Mrs.  Elizabp:th  :    Cranford. 

Hughes,  Thomas:    Tom  Brown's  School  Days;  Tom  Brown  at  Oxford. 
Kingsley,  Charles:    Hereward,  the  Wake  ;  Westward  Ho! 
Scott,  Sir  Walter  :    Ivanhoe ;    Kenilworth  ;    The  Talisman  ;    Quentin 

Durward. 

b.  Novels  to  be  read  because  they  give  especially  clear  impressions  of 

the  life  of  a  particular  place  or  period  : 

(i)    Novels  which  give  impressions  of  American  life: 

Altsheler  :    The  Young  Trailers. 

Austin,  Mary  :    Isidro. 

Cable,  George  Washington  :   The  Grandissimes ;  Dr.  Sevier. 

Chestnutt,  C.  W.  :  The  Conjure  Woman ;  The  House  behind  the 
Cedars  ;  The  Marrow  of  Tradition  ;  The  Wife  of  His  Youth. 

Deland,  Margaret  :    The  Iron  Woman. 

Duncan,  Norman  :    Dr.  Luke  of  the  Labrador. 

Eggleston,  Edward  :    The  Hoosier  Schoolmaster. 

FOOTE,  Mary  Halleck  :    The  Led-Horse  Claim. 

Ford,  Paul  Leicester  :    Peter  Stirling. 

Fox,  John,  Jr.  The  Little  Shepherd  of  Kingdom  Come ;  The  Trail  of 
the  Lonesome  Pine. 

Fuller,  H.  B.  :   The  Cliff  Dwellers. 

Herrick,  Robert  :    The  Common  Lot. 

Higginson,  Tho.mas  W.  :    Malbone,  an  Old  Port. 

Howells,  William  Dean  :  A  Chance  Acquaintance ;  Their  Wedding 
Journey. 

Jackson,  Mrs.  Helen  Hunt:    Ramona. 

Jewett,  Sarah  Orne:  Betty  Leicester ;  A  Country  Doctor  ;  The  Coun- 
try of  the  Pointed  Firs  ;  Deephaven. 


SUPPLEMENTARY   READING  387 

King,  Charles  :    Cadet  Days. 

Kipling,  Rudyard  :   Captains  Courageous. 

MURFREE,  Mary  (Charles  Egbert  Craddock)  :    The  Prophet  of  the  Great 

Smoky  Mountains. 
NORRis,  Frank  :   The  Octopus  ;  The  Pit. 
Page,  Thomas  Nelson:   Red  Rock. 
Pier,  Stanwood  :    Harding  of  St.  Timothy's. 
Remington,  Frederick  :    Pony  Tracks. 
Smith,  F.  Hopkinson  :    Caleb  West ;  Tom  Grogan. 
Stratton-Porter,   Gene  :    Freckles ;     The   Harvester ;     The   Maid   of 

the  Limberlost. 
Tarkington,  Booth  :    A  Gentleman  of  Indiana. 
Wharton,  Edith:    The  Greater  Inclination. 
White,  E.  S.  :   The  Blazed  Trail. 
Wister,  Owen  :   The  Virginian. 
Woolson,  Constance  Fenimore  :   East  Angel. 

(2)  Novels  which  give  impressions  of  life  in  foreign  countries  : 

Auerbach  :   On  the  Heights. 

Barrie,  James  M.  :   The  Little  Minister. 

Black,  William  :   A  Princess  of  Thule. 

Bremer,  Frederika:    The  Neighbours. 

Craik,  Mrs.  Dinah  Maria  (Mulock)  :   John  Halifax,  Gentleman. 

Crawford,  F.  Marion:    A  Roman  Singer;  Saracinesca;  Sant'   Ilario; 

Don  Orsino ;  Zoroaster. 
Du  Chaillu,  Paul:   The  Land  of  the  Long  Night. 
HALfevY,  Ludovic  :    Abb^  Constantin. 
HowELLS,  William  Dean  :   The  Lady  of  the  Aroostook. 
Kipling,  Rudyard:   Kim. 
Macdonald,  George:    Sir  Gibbie. 
Merriman,  Henry  Seaton  :    The  Sowers. 
Parker,  Gilbert  :   The  Battle  of  the  Strong. 
Saintine,  Xavier  B.  :    Picciola. 
Sherwood,  Margaret:   Daphne. 
Trollope,  Anthony:    Barchester  Towers  ;  The  Last  Chronicle  of  Barset. 

(3)  Novels  which  have  some  historical  value  : 

Aguilar,  Grace  :    The  Days  of  Bruce. 

Austin,  Mrs.  Jane  C.  :    Betty  Alden  ;  Standish  of  Standish. 


388  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

Bulwer-Lyttox  :    The  Last  Days  of  Pompei. 

Catherwood,  Mrs.  Mary  H.  :   The  Romance  of  Dollard. 

Churchill,  Wlmston  :    Richard  Carvel ;  The  Crisis. 

Coffin,  Charles  Castleton  :    Old  Times  in  the  Colonies. 

Dickens,  Charles  :   A  Tale  of  Two  Cities. 

Doyle,  A.  Conan:    The  White  Company. 

Ebers,  George  :    An  Egyptian  Princess  ;  Uarda. 

Foote,  Mary  Halleck  :    Coeur  d'Aldne. 

Henty,  G.  a.  :    Wulf  the  Saxon. 

Mitchell,  S.  Weir  :    Hugh  Wynne. 

Parker,  Gilbert  :    The  Seats  of  the  Mighty. 

Porter,  Jane:    Scottish  Chiefs. 

Ware,  William  :   Zenobia. 

Wyman,  Stanley  :    A  Gentleman  of  France  ;  Under  the  Red  Robe. 

(4)  Novels  which  recount  adventure  : 

Hope,  Anthony  :    The  Prisoner  of  Zenda. 

Janvier,  Thomas  :   Aztec  Treasure-house. 

Marryat,  Frederick  :    Masterman  Ready. 

Stevenson,  Robert  Louis  :  Kidnapped ;  David  Balfour ;  The  Master  of 

Ballantrae. 
Stockton,  Frank  R.  :    Buccaneers  and  Pirates  of  Our  Coast. 
Verne,  Jules:    Michael  Strogoff;  Twenty  Thousand  Leagues  under  the 

Sea;  Around  the  World  in  Eighty  Days. 

(5)  Novels  which  are  humorous  : 

Cervantes  :    Don  Quixote. 

Clemens,  Samuel  (Mark  Twain)  :    Huckleberry  Finn  ;    The  Adventures 
of  Tom  Sawyer. 

C.   Mythology 
I.    Reconinioided  Texts 

Baldwin,  James:    The  Story  of  Siegfried;  Old  Greek  Stories;  Story  of 

Roland. 
Bulfinch,  Tho.mas  :    Age  of  Fable. 
Bryant,  Wu.lia.m  Cullen  :  Translation  of  the  Iliad:  Translation  of  the 

Odyssey. 
Church,    A.    J.:     Pictures  from   Greek    Life  and  Story ;    Pictures   from 

Ronlan  Life  and  Story  :  Stories  from  Homer  ;  Stories  from  Livy  ;  The 

Iliad  for  Boys  and  Girls  ;  The  Odyssey  for  Boys  and  Girls. 


SUPPLEMENTARY    READING  369 

UAYLEY,  C.  M.:    Classic  Myths  in  English  Literature. 

KiNGSLEY,  Charles  :    The  Heroes. 

Mabie,  Hamilton  Wright  :    Norse  Legends. 

Macaulay,  Thomas  B.  :    Lays  of  Ancient  Rome. 

Malory,  Sir  Thomas  :    Boys'  King  Arthur,  edited  by  Sidney  Lanier. 

Palmer,  George  H.  :    Translation  of  the  Odyssey. 

Zitkala-Sa  :    Old  Indian  Legends. 

2.   Recommended  Myths 

a.  Myths  of  the  Creation  : 

(i)    Prometheus  and  Pandora. 
(2)    Deucalion  and  Pyrrha. 

b.  Myths  of  the  Great  Gods  : 

(i)  Myths  of  Jupiter  and  Juno  :  lo  ;  Callisto  ;  Europa  ;  Baucis  and 
Philemon. 

(2)  Myths  of  Minerva  :  Arachne. 

(3)  Myths  of  Apollo  :  Phaethon :  Punishment  of  Niobe ;  Apollo, 
Pan,  and  Midas  ;  Daphne. 

(4)  Myths  of  Diana  :   Actaeon  ;  Endymion. 

(5)  Myths  of  Venus  :  Cupid  and  Psyche ;  Atalanta's  Race  ;  Hero 
and  Leander,  Pvgmalion  and  the  Statue:   Pvramus  and  Thisbe. 

(6)  Myths  of  Pluto :  Demeter  and  Persephone :  Orpheus  and 
Eurydice. 

c.  Myths  of  the  Heroes  : 

Perseus  and  Medusa  ;  Perseus  and  Atlas  ;  Perseus  and  Andromeda  ; 
Hercules  and  the  Twelve  Labors  ;  Jason  and  the  Golden  Fleece ; 
Theseus  and  Ariadne  :  Ulysses  among  the  Phaeacians. 

D.    Biography,  History,  and  Travel 
I .    Biography 

a.     Biographies  dealing  with  typical  boyhood  or  typical  girlhood: 

Aldrich.  Thomas  Bailey  :    The  Story  of  a  Bad  Boy. 

Banks:    An  Oregon  Boyhood. 

CiPRiANA,  L.  C. :    A  Tuscan  Childhood. 

Eastman,  Charles  A.:    Indian  Boyhood ;  Old  Indian  Days. 

Franklin,  Benjamin  :   Autobiography. 


390  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

Grinnell,  G.   B.  :    The  Story  of  an  Indian. 

Larcom,  Lucy:    A  New  England  Girlhood. 

Lee,  Yan  Phou  :    When  I  was  a  Boy  in  China. 

Warner,  Charles  Dudley  :    Being  a  Boy. 

WiNSLOW,  A.  G. :    Diary  of  a  Boston  School-girl  of  1771. 

b.    Biographies  of  famous  people  : 

Baldwin,  James  :    Four  Great  Americans. 

Besant,  Sir  Walter  :    The  Story  of  King  Alfred. 

Bolton,  Mrs.  Sarah:    Famous  American  Statesmen;  Famous  English 

Statesmen. 
BouTET  DE  Monvel,  M.  de  :    Joan  of  Arc. 
Brooks,  N.  :    First  Across  the  Continent. 
Custer,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  :    Boots  and  Saddles ;  Following  the  Guidon  ; 

Tenting  on  the  Plains. 
Evans,  Robley  D.  :   A  Sailor's  Log. 

Frothingham,  Jesse  P. :    Sea  Fighters  from  Drake  to  Farragut. 
Froude,  J.  a.  :    English  Seamen  in  the  Sixteenth  Century. 
Grant,  U.  S. :    Personal  Memoirs. 
Johnston,  C.  J.  L. :    Famous  Cavalry  Leaders. 
Kaufman,  Rosalie:   Queens  of  England. 
NicoLAY,  J.  G. :   A  Short  Life  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 
Oliphant,  Mrs.  M.  O.  W.  :    Makers  of  Venice. 
Page,  Thomas  Nelson  :    Robert  E.  Lee.  the  Southerner. 
Parton,  James:    Captains  of  Industry. 

Plutarch's  Lives  :   Edited  by  Rosalie  Kaufman  or  by  J.  L.  White. 
Riis,  Jacob:    The  Making  of  an  American. 
Roosevelt  and  Lodge  :    Hero  Tales  from  American  History. 
ScHURZ,  Carl  :    Abraham  Lincoln. 

Smith,  F.  Hopkinson  :    Captain  Thomas  A.  Scott,  Master  Diver. 
Washington,  Booker  T.:    Up  From  Slavery. 

2.   History 

Blumner,  H.  :    Home  Life  of  the  Ancient  Greeks. 

Davis,  Richard  Harding  :   Cuban  and  Porto  Rican  Campaigns. 

GUHL,  E.,  AND  KONER,  W.  :    The  Life  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans. 

Irving,  Washington:    The  Alhambra;  The  Conquest  of  Granada. 

Kennan,  George:    Tent  Life  in  Siberia. 

Mahaffey,  J.  T.  :    Social  Life  in  Greece. 


SUPPLICM RXTARY    READING 


391 


Motley,  John  Lothrop  :   The  Siege  of  Leyden. 

Page,  Thomas  Nelson  :   The   Old   Dominion ;    Her   Making  and   Her 

Manners. 
Parkman,  Francis:    The  Conspiracy  of  Pontiac ;  The  Jesuits  in  North 

America;  Montcalm  and  Wolfe;  The  Old  Regime  in  Canada. 
Roosevelt,  Theodore  :    Rough  Riders  ;  The  Winning  of  the  West. 
Roosevelt  and  Lodge  :    Hero  Tales  from  American  History. 

3.    Travel 

Amundsen,  Roald  :   The  Northwest  Passage. 

Brassey,  Lady  Anne  :   A  Voyage  in  the  Sunbeam. 

BuLLEN,  Frank  Thomas  :    Cruise  of  the  Cachalot. 

Dana,  Richard  Henry  :    Two  Years  before  the  Mast. 

Knox,  Thomas  W.  :   Travels  of  Marco  Polo. 

Stanley,    Henry    M.  :    Through    the  Dark  Continent;    How  I    Found 

Livingstone. 
Williams,  Archibald  :   Romance  of  Modern  Exploration. 

E.   Books  of  Outdoor  Life 

Gibson,  William  Hamilton  :   Camp  Life  in  the  Woods. 
Grinnell  and  Roosevelt  :    Trail  and  Camp  Fire. 
Roosevelt,  Theodore:    The  Hunting  Trips  of  a  Ranchman. 
White,  Edward  Stewart  :   The  Forest. 

*        F.   Natural  Science 

I .    Books  which  contain  accounts  of: 

a.  The  habits  of  plants  : 

Allen,  Grant:   The  Story  of  the  Plants. 

Bailey,  L.  H.,  Jr.  :    Talks  Afield  about  Plants  and  the  Science  of  Plants. 

Conn  :    Bacteria,  Yeasts,  and  Molds  in  the  Home  ;  Story  of  Germ  Life. 

Harwood,  W.  S.':    New  Creations  in  Plant  Life. 

Sargent,  Frederick  L.  :   Corn  Plants,  Their  Uses  and  Ways  of  Life. 

Warner,  Charles  Dudley  :   My  Summer  in  a  Garden. 

b.  The  habits  of  animals  : 

Baker,  Sir  Samuel  W.  :  Wild  Beasts  and  Their  Ways. 
BOSTOCK,  F.  C. :  Training  of  Wild  Animals. 


392  PRACTICAL    ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

Burroughs,  John  :    Squirrels  and  Other  Fur-bearers. 

Gerard,  Jules  :    Lion  Hunting  and  Sporting  Life  in  Algeria. 

Hameston,  p.  G.  :    Chapters  on  Animals. 

Holland,  W.  J. :    Butterfly  Book  ;  Moth  Book. 

Kellogg,  Vernon  :    Insect  Stories. 

Walton,  Charles  :    A  Hermit's  Wild  Friends. 

3.    Books  which  contain  accounts  of  the  adventures  of  animals : 

Brown,  John  :    Rab  and  his  Friends. 

Jackson,  Helen  Hunt  :    Letters  from  a  Cat. 

Kipling,  Rudyard:    The  Jungle  Book. 

London,  Jack  :    The  Call  of  the  Wild. 

Ollivant  :    Bob,  Son  of  Battle. 

Roberts,  Charles  :     The  Haunters  of  the  Silences  ;    The  House  in  the 

Water;  The  Kindred  of  the  Wild  ;  Watchers  of  the  Trail ;  Red  Fox. 
Selous,  Edmund:    Romance  of  the  Animal  World  ;  Romance  of  Insect 

Life. 
Seton,  Ernest  Thompson  :    The  Biography  of  a  Grizzly  ;    Lives  of  the 

Hunted;  Trail  of  the  Sandhill  Stag;  Wild  Animals  I  have  Known. 

4.    Books  which  contain  accounts  of  natural  forces  in  action  : 

Baker,  Ray  Stannard:    Boy's  Book  of  Inventions. 
Barnard  :    First  Steps  in  Electricity. 
Gibson,  Charles  R.  :    Romance  of  Modern  Electricity. 
Green,  Homer  :    Coal  and  the  Coal  Mines.  • 

Harper'' s  Practical  Books  for  Boys 

Harper's  Outdoor  Books  for  Boys.  (Written  by  Joseph  Adams  and 
Others.) 

Harper's  Electricity  Book  for  Boys.     T Written  by  Joseph  H.  Adams.) 

Harper's  Indoor  Books  for  Boys.     (Written  by  Joseph  Adams  and  Others.) 

Harper's  How  to  Understand  Electrical  Works.  (Written  by  William  H. 
Unkay,  Jr.,  and  Joseph  B.  Baker.) 

Harper's  Machinery  Books  for  Boys.     (Written  by  Joseph  H.  Adams.) 

Hopkins,  George  M.  :    Experimental  Science. 

Houston,  Edwin  J.:  The  Wonder  Book  of  Magnetism;  The  Wonder 
Book  of  Volcanoes  and  Plarthquakes ;  The  Wonder  Book  of  Atmos- 
phere;  The  Wonder  Book  ot  Light. 


SUPPLEMENTARY    READING  393 

Meadowcroft,  W.  H.  :    ABC  of  Electricity. 

Santos-Dumont,  Alberto  :    My  Airships. 

Shaler,  N.  S.  :    The  Story  of  Our  Continent. 

St.  John,  T.  M.  :  How  Two  Boys  Made  Their  Own  Electrical  Apparatus  ; 
Things  a  Boy  Should  Know  about  Electricity ;  Study  of  Elementary 
Electricity  and  Magnetism  by  Experiment. 

TissANDiER,  Gaston  :    Scientific  Amusements. 

Williams,  Archibald  :  How  it  is  Made ;  How  it  Works ;  How  it  is 
Done;  Romance  of  Modern  Mechanism;  Romance  of  Modern  Min- 
ing; Romance  of  Modern  Steam  Locomotion;  Romance  of  Modern 
Invention  ;  Romance  of  Modern  Engineering. 


CHAPTER   XV 
THE   PUNCTUATION  OF  THE   SENTENCE 

The  Period 

1.  A  period  is  used  at  the  end  of  a  declarative  or  of  an 
imperative  sentence. 

Ex.  —  The  gray-eyed  morn  smiles  on  the  frowning  niglit, 
Checkerins:  the  eastern  clouds  with  streaks  of  lii^ht. 

Turn  thy  distaff  slowly,  Clotho. 

2.  A  period  is  used  to  mark  an  abbreviation. 

Ex.  —  The  devotional  service  was  followed  by  addresses  by  Dr.  Hale, 
Prof.  Arnold,  and  Hon.  John  U.  Long. 

The  Interrogation  Point 

The  interrogation  point  is  used  at  the  end  of  a  direct  ques- 
tion. 

Ex.  —  Can  a  Roman  senate  long  debate 

Which  of  the  two  to  choose,  slavery  or  death  ? 

The  Exclamation  Point 

The    exclamation    point    is    used    after    interjections    and 
exjiressions  of  strong  emotion. 

Ex.  —  Ay!  since  the  galloping  Normans  came, 
En«;land's  annals  have  known  her  name. 

"A  crown  for  York!  and,  lords,  bow  low  to  him!" 

EXERCISE    I 

Insert   the  period,  the  interrogation    point,  or  the  exclamation    point 
wherever  necessary  in  the  following  sentences  : 

304 


THE    PUNCTUATION    OF    THE    SENTENCE  395 

1 .  "  Speak  long  parley  may  last  too  long '' 

2.  The  sun  by  this  had  risen,  and  cleared  the  fog 
From  the  broad  Oxus  and  the  glittering  sands 

3.  Self-respect  is  the  foundation  of  all  true  manliness  and  womanliness 

4.  O  childhood  days  enchanted 
O  the  magic  of  the  spring 

5.  Does  your  look  fall  like  a  sunbeam  or  shadow  across  the  breakfast 
table 

6.  No  one  can  really  know  the  forest  without  feeling  the  gentle  influence 
of  one  of  the  kindliest  and  strongest  parts  of  nature 

7.  Did  you  know  that  all  the  civilized  nations  except  China  take  care 
to  preserve  their  forests 

8.  Lo  as  he  turned  to  depart  Priscilla  was  standing  beside  him 

9.  No  victory  worth  having  was  ever  won  without  cost 

10.  "  Had  you  rather  Caesar  were  living,  and  die  all  slaves,  than  that 
Caesar  were  dead,  to  live  all  freemen  " 

1 1.  To  see  Charlotty  Briggs,  ''  being  a  butterfly,"  with  utter  intensity  of 
joy  and  singleness  of  purpose,  was  a  sight  to  be  remembered 

The  Comma 

1.  Three  or  more  words,  phrases,  or  clauses  in  a  series, 
i.e.,  in  the  same  construction,  should  be  separated  by  commas. 

Ex.  —  The  old  man  looked  irresolutely,  first  at  her,  then  to  the  right 
and  left,  then  at  her  again,  and  shook  his  head. 

He  had  a  shrunken  body,  a  curious  melancholy  face,  and  such  a  head 
of  dust-colored  hair  that  he  might  have  been  shocked  for  a  doormat. 

Exception.  —  When  the  members  of  the  series  are  con- 
nected by  conjunctions,  the  comma  should  be  omitted. 

Ex.  —  With  its  sweep  and  glide  and  its  silvery  laugh,  the  stream  seems 
to  lead  a  merry  life. 

2.  When  words  or  expressions  form  a  series  of  pairs,  a 
comma  should  be  placed  after  each  pair. 

Ex.  —  In  the  cities  and  in  the  villages,  in  the  public  temples  and  in  the 
family  circles,  among  all  ages  and  sexes,  gladdened  voices  to-day  bespeak 
grateful  hearts  and  a  freshened  recollection  of  the  virtues  of  the  Father  of 
his  Country. 


■> 


y6  PRACTICAL    ENGLISH    COMPOSITION 


EXERCISE  II 

Insert  commas  in  the  following  sentences  : 

1.  The  roads  the  woods  the  heavens  the  hills  are  not  a  world  to-day 
But  just  a  place  God  made  for  us  to  play. 

2.  The  polo-ball  was  an  old  one  scarred  clipped  and  dented. 

3.  We  highly  resolve  that  the  nation  under  God  shall  have  a  govern- 
ment of  the  people  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people  that  shall  not  perish 
from  the  earth.  / 

4.  She  wore  a  light  green  shot-silk  frock  a  blazing  red  shawl  and  a 
yellow  crape  bonnet  profusely  decorated  with  azure  orange  and  magenta 
artificial  flowers.        ^ 

c.  For  hundreds  of  miles  it  wears  and  worries  and  undermines  the 
rocks  to  its  destruction. 

6.  See  how  big  he  is  and  how  old  and  gray^and  grim^and  how  motion- 
less and  silent.  '  "* 

7.  When  I  go  back  to  Aunt  Jane's  garden  I  pass  through  the  front  yard 
and  the  back  yard  between  rows  of  lilac  and  syringa  calycanthus  and  honey- 
suckle. ^ 

8.  In  town  or  country  wet  or  dry  hot  or  cold  Tom  Codlin  suffers. 

3.  Words,  phrases,  or  clauses  used  in  apposition  are  sepa- 
rated from  the  rest  of  the  sentence  by  commas. 

Ex.  —  I  seek  one  man,  Rustum,  my  father. 

Above  upon  a  balcony  commanding  a  view  of  the  beautiful  landscape 
stood  Boabdil,  the  last  of  the  Moorish  kings. 

J\^ote.  —  In  the  case  of  a  title,  when  the  connection  between 
an  appositive  and  a  noun  is  very  close,  commas  should  be 
omitted. 

Ex.  —  Peter  the  Hermit  made  Europe  resound  with  his  recital  of  the 
cruelties  of  the  Turks  at  Jerusalem. 

Walter  the  Penniless  led  the  vanguard  of  the  crusaders  as  far  as  Con- 
stantinople. 

4.  Words  or  phrases  used  in  direct  address  are  separated 
from  the  rest  of  the  sentence  by  commas. 

^v.  —  Mr.  Swiveller,  sir,  is  forturate  to  have  your  friendship. 
Welcome,  O  wind  of  the  East,  from  the  caives  of  the  mighty  Atlantic. 


THE    PUNCTUATION    OF   THE    SENTENCE 


397 


5.    Phrases  in  the  absolute  construction  are  separated  by- 
commas. 

Ex.  —  All  others  being  excluded  from  the  tent,  the  attendant  relieved 
his  master  from  the  more  burdensome  parts  of  his  armor. 

EXERCISE   m 

Insert  commas  in  the  following  sentences : 

1.  I  stand  corrected, sir. 

2.  Not  many  miles  from  the  village  of  El  Pardillo  stands  the  ruined 

castle  of  Villafranco  an  ancient  stronghold  of  the  Moors. 

» 

3.  Ensign  Maccombich  having  gone  to  the  Highland  camp  upon  duty 

Waverly  proceeded  to  duty. 

4.  No  more>gentlemen  no  more  here  comes  my  father. 

5.  Forth  from  the  curtain  of  clouds  from  the  tent  of  purple  and  scarlet^ 
Issued  the  sun  the  great  high  priest  in  his  garment  resplendent. 

6.  The  door  being  forced  quite  open  a  square  and  sturdy  little  urchin 
became  apparent ^^vvith  cheeks  as  red  as  an  apple. 

7.  "Give  ear  O  my  people, to  the  law." 

8.  "Now  smiling  friends  and  shipmates  all 

Since  half  our  battle's  won, 
A  broadside  for  our  Admiral  ! " 

6.    When  the  thoughts  are  closely  connected,  the  proposi- 
tions of  a  compound  sentence  are  separated  by  commas. 

Ex.  —  The  first  gray  of  morning  filled  the  east, 
And  the  fog  rose  out  of  the  Oxus  stream. 

EXERCISE  IV 

Insert  commas  in  the  following  sentences : 

I.    So  one  by  one  ,they  went  out  of  the  azure  chamber  with  its  silver 
stars  and  Artaban  was  left  in  solitude. 

.    2..  The  air  was  temperate  the  sky  was  serene  the  silver  orb  of  the  moon 
was  reflected  from  the  waters  and  all  nature  was  silent. 
3.    The  waves  beside  them  danced  but  they 
Outdid  the  sparkling  waves  in  glee. 


398  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

4.  Day  unto  day  uttereth  speech  and  night  unto  night  showeth  knowl- 
edge. 

5.  A  little  laughter  is  a  beam  of  sunshine  and  a  happy  face  is  like  a 
piece  of  blue  sky  seen  between  the  rolling  clouds  of  a  storm. 

7.  Words,  phrases,  or  clauses  used  parenthetically  are 
separated  from  the  rest  of  the  sentence  by  commas. 

Ex.  — The  Southrons,  with  one  exception,  were  the  last  to  arrive. 

8.  Modal  adverbs  or  modal  adverbial  phrases  are  sepa- 
rated from  the  rest  of  the  sentence  by  commas. 

Note.  —  Modal  adverbs  and  modal  adverbial  phrases  are 
adverbs  and  adverbial  phrases  used  to  modify  the  sentence 
as  a  whole  rather  than  to  modify  a  single  word  in  a  sentence. 
Their  purpose  is  either  to  indicate  relation  in  thought  between 
two  sentences  or  to  emphasize  the  thought  in  the  sentence  in 
which  the  modal  adverb  or  modal  adverbial  phrase  is  found. 

Ex.  —  The  doors,  too,  were  arched  and  low,  with  oaken  panels  and 
quaint  benches. 

The  disputants  are,  on  the  contrary,  very  good  friends. 
He  is,  indeed,  a  noted  scholar. 

The  following  expressions  are  generally  modal  in  use : 


according 

ly 

however 

in  truth 

consequei 

itly 

indeed 

in  fact 

finally 

in  brief 

in  reality 

in  short 

surely 

moreover 

therefore 

no  doubt 

then 

perhaps 

too 

EXERCISE   V 

Insert  commas  in  the  following  sentences: 

1.  Artaban  must  indeed  ride  wiselv  and  well  it  he  would  keep  the  ap- 
pointed hour  with  the  other  wise  men. 

2.  She  was  certain  however  ihat  she  saw  him  sitting  in  the  ancestral 
armchair  near  the  center  of  the  room. 


THE  PUNCTUATION  OF  THE  SENTENCE       399 

3.  Meantime,  the  inclosed  space  at  the  northern  extremity  of  the  lists 
large  as  it  was  was  completely  crowded  with  the  knights  desirous  to  prove 
their  skill  against  the  challengers. 

4.  The  cabins  not  excepting  that  of  the  inspector  of  weights  and  meas- 
ures,were  mere  huts. 

5.  And  now  the  horses  as  though  taught  by  instinct  hastened  with 
increased  speed.  ' 

9.  Adjective  and  adverbial  clauses  that  are  not  restrictive 
in  meaning  are  separated  from  the  rest  of  the  sentence  by 
commas. 

Ex.  —  His  coat,  that  used  to  be  glossy  and  trim,  was  white  at  the 
seams,  and  the  buttons  showed  the  copper. 

Note.  —  A  clause  is  restrictive  when  it  limits  in  meaning 
the  word  that  it  modifies. 

1.  Restrictive  adjective  clause  : 

The  sunshine  was  like  gold  that  had  been  washed  and  polished. 

2.  Restrictive  adverbial  clause  : 
He  comes  whenever  he  can. 

EXERCISE  VI 

Insert  commas  where  necessary  in  the  following  sentences : 

r.  The  miller  who  was  a  greedy  man  in  his  way  and  never  forewent  an 
opportunity  turned  the  mill  into  a  little  wayside  inn. 

2.  The  preparations  that  had  been  going  on  for  months  in  the  arsenals 
and  foundries  of  the  north  were  nearly  completed. 

3.  He  talked  less  than  any  man  I  knew. 

4.  Little  Pearl  went  capering  down  the  hall  so  airily  that  old  Mr.  Wil- 
son raised  a  question  whether  even  her  tiptoes  touched  the  tioor. 

5.  But  the  Puritan's  face  scowled  down  out  of  the  picture  as  if  nothing 
on  the  table  pleased  his  appetite. 

6.  Once  a  rock  broke  loose  and  came  tumbling  down  but  plunged  into  a 
thicket  where  it  stayed. 

7.  Major  would  have  perished   forty  times   over   if  he   had  had  forty 


400  PRACTICAL    ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

lives  to  throw  away  before  he  would  have  allowed  one  of  those  useless  logs 
to  be  thrown  away. 

8.  There  is  one  cock  who  gets  upon  a  post  to  crow  and  seems  to  take 
particular  notice  of  me  as  I  look  at  him  through  the  kitchen  window. 

9.  The  sun  was  still  concealed  below  the  opposite  hilltops  although  it 
was  shining  not  twenty  feet  away  on  our  own  mountain  slope. 

10.  Transposed  words,  phrases,  or  clauses  are  separated 
from  the  rest  of  the  sentence  by  commas. 

Ex.  —  Unfortunately  for  Anne,  a  professional  elocutionist  was  staying 
at  the  hotel  and  had  consented  to  recite. 

EXERCISE  VII 

Insert  commas  where  necessary  in  the  following  sentences : 

1.  The  commander  and  the  second  officer  went  up  on  deck  again  and 
began  to  talk  together  walking  side  by  side. 

2.  Beyond  that  and  lower  down  a  lilied  pond  widened  out  of  a  sluggish 
brook  with  a  cool  and  rustic  spring  house  at  the  end. 

3.  One  by  one  the  archers  stepping  forward  delivered  their  shafts  yeo- 
manlike and  bravely. 

4.  As  fast  as  the  crowd  increased  regiments  appeared  and  taking  up 
positions  lay  at  ease. 

5.  As  we  gazed  the  van  of  the  army  began  to  roll  out  from  the  cover  of 
the  trees  and  to  darken  the  dusty  road. 

6.  Farther  back  where  the  road  turned  and  ran  along  the  ridge  of  the 
hill  several  horsemen  could  be  seen  plainly  outlined  against  the  evening  sky. 

7.  As  I  advanced  up  the  avenue  I  could  see  through  the  shadows  of 
twilight  that  the  house  was  large. 

11.  Direct  informal  quotations  are  separated  from  the  rest 
of  the  sentence  by  commas. 

Ex.  —  '^  There  is  nothing  now  left  for  us  to  do,"  said  the  blacksmith  to 
his  little  following,  *'  so  I  will  go  back  to  my  forge,  and  you  to  your  farm.'* 

EXERCISE  VIII 

Insert  commas  where  necessary  in  the  following  sentences  : 

I.    "Mr.  Carvel"  he  replied  with  an  impressiveness  that  took  me  back 
"reward  is  a  thing  that  should  not  be  spoken  of  between  gentlemen." 


THE   PUNCTUATION   OF   THE   SENTENCE  401 

2.  He  thought  a  minute  and  then  said  in  a  low  tone  "  I  can't  write  and 
I  don't  know  when  I  shall  be  able  to  learn." 

3.  "It  is  farther  on"  I  said  "but  observe  the  white  web-work  which 
gleams  from  these  cavern  walls." 

4.  "Sir"  said  I   "may  I  be  so  bold  as  to  inquire  if  you  are  not  Mr. 
Rugg?  for  I  think  I  have  seen  you  before." 

5.  "I  have  frequently  said  to  Sarah  sir"  replied  Brass  "that  she  was 
of  no  use  at  all  in  the  business." 

12.  In  a  compound  sentence,  the  omission  of  a  word   is 
indicated  by  a  comma. 

Ex.  —  Conscience  is  our  magnetic  needle,  reason,  our  chart. 

EXERCISE  IX 

Insert  commas  where  necessary  in  the  following  sentences  : 

1.  From  our  ancestors  come  our  names  from  our  virtues  our  honors. 

2.  Justice  consists  in   doing   no  injury  to  men    decency  in  giving  no 
offense. 

13.  Contrasted   words,  phrases,  or  clauses   are  separated 
from  the  rest  of  the  sentence  by  commas. 

Ex.  —  Not  hate,  but  glory  made  these  chiefs  content. 

EXERCISE  X 

Insert  commas  where  necessary  in  the  following  sentences : 

1.  Habits  are  at  first  cobwebs  at  last  cables. 

2.  Our  grand  business  is  not  to  see  what  lies  dimly  at  a  distance  but  to 
do  what  lies  clearly  at  hand. 

3.  Strength  of  mind  is  exercise  not  rest. 

4.  What  the  Puritans  gave  the  world  was  not  thought  but  action. 

5.  All  around  him  was  calm  but  within  him  was  motion  and  conflict. 

EXERCISE   XI 

Insert  commas  where  necessary  in  the  following  sentences.     State  the 
rule  for  each  comma  supplied. 

I.    Muskrats  swam    noiselessly    in    the   shadows    diving  with  a  great 
commotion  as  the  canoe  ran  upon  them  suddenly. 


^02  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITlOxN 

2.  East  and  west  as  the  lantern-bearer  knew  the  rotten  corduroy  was 
drawn  in  a  straight  line  across  the  morass. 

3.  Joy  comes  grief  goes  we  know  not  how. 

4.  Since  the  sun  still  rises  since  earth  puts  forth  her  blossoms  anew 
since  the  bird  builds  its  nest  and  the  mother  smiles  at  her  child  let  us  have 
courage  to  be  men  and  commit  the  rest  to  Him  who  numbers  the  stars. 

•  5.    -'Ferwood  and  Persians  and  Tartars  hear!'' 

6.  My  father  too  sat  leaning  his  head  on  his  two  hands  not  unmoved. 

7.  He  had  apparently  made  an  attempt  at  a  toilet  without  the  aid 
of  a  mirror  for  there  was  a  clean  circle  like  a  race-track  round  and  grimy 
from  the  center  like  a  sort  of  judge's  stand  while  the  dusky  rim  outside 
represented  the  space  for  audience  seats. 

8.  While  gazing  at  the  portrait  Hepzibah  trembled  under  its  eye. 

9.  But  whatever  may  be  our  fate  be  assured  that  this  Declaration  will 
stand. 

10.  "He  is  calling  for  you  again  dear  lady"  she  said  going  up  to 
Madame  de  Florae  who  was  still  kneeling  "  and  just  now  he  wanted 
Pendennis  to  take  care  of  his  bov." 

11.  It  was  a  rude  round  towerlike  structure  about  twenty  teet  high 
heavily  built  of  rough  stones  and  with  a  hillock  of  earth  heaped  about  the 
larger  part  of  its  circumference  so  that  the  blocks  and  fragments  of  marble 
might  be  drawn  by  cart-loads  and  thrown  in  at  the  top. 

12.  Everything  that  happens  in  this  world  is  part  of  the  great  plan  of 
God  running  through  all  time. 

13.  Arras  the  blacksmith  and  armorer  stood  at  the  door  of  his  hut  in 
the  valley  of  the  Alf  on  a  summer  evening. 

14.  John  Paul  paused  a  moment  his  hand  upon  the  latch  of  the  gate  his 
eyes  drinking  in  the  picture. 

15.  Purple  and  crimson  and  scarlet  like  the  curtains  of  God's  taber- 
nacle the  rejoicing  trees  sank  into  the  valley  in  the  showers  of  light. 

16.  ''Millions  for  defense  but  not  one  cent  for  tribute.'' 

17.  '"And  vet"  said  Scrooge  ''  you  don't  think  me  ill-used  when  I  pay 
a  day's  wages  for  no  work." 

18.  Ethan  Brand  however  drew  quietly  back  and  closed  the  door  of  the 
kiln. 

19.  As  their  horses'  hoofs  died  away  Gurth  said  to  his  companion  '*  If 
tliev  follow  thy  wise  direction  the  reverend  fathers  will  hardly  reach 
Rotherwood  this  night." 

20.  The  shoulder  of  the  mountain  which  shuts  in  the  canon    alreadv 


THE    PUNCTUATION    OF   THE    SENTENCE  403 

glowed  with  sunlight  in  the   wonderful  compound  of  gold  and  rose  and 
green. 

21.  I  see  her  standing  among  the  strawberries,  her  black  hair  waving 
in  the  wind  and  her  red  lips  redder  from  the  stains. 

22.  Greatness  is  not  in  being  strong  but  in  the  right  use  of  strength. 

23.  I  knew  every  syllable  that  passed  between  them  as  well  as  they  did. 

24.  ''  Phineas"  said  he  after  having  stopped  a  volley  of  poor  JaePs 
threats  "  Phineas  my  son  I  rejoice  to  see  thy  mind  turning  toward 
business." 

25.  In  came  Mrs.  Fezziwig  one  vast  substantial  smile. 

26.  The  women  lived  in  the  huts  and  the  men  in  the  caves. 

27.  Ambition  courage  fortitude  and  all  forms  of  self-control  imply  that 
a  person  has  respect  for  himself  that  he  likes  to  fill  his  place  well  and  to 
hold  his  own  in  the  world. 

28.  Knowledge  in  truth  is  the  great  sun  in  the  firmament. 

29.  Cheerily  then  my  little  man 
Live  and  laugh  as  boyhood  can. 

30.  His  hair  once  darker  than  the  cliffs  of  Zageos  was  now  as  white  as 
the  wintry  snow  that  covered  them. 

The  Semicolon 

I.    The  members  of   a  compound  sentence  are  separated 

by  semicolons  when    the  distinct    units  of    thought    require 

emphasis. 

Ex.  —  Cowards  die  many  times  before  their  death  ; 
The  valiant  never  taste  of  death  but  once. 

EXERCISE   XII 

Insert  commas  and  semicolons  where  necessary  in  the  following 
sentences : 

1.  It  is  a  wise  man  who  knows  his  business  and  it  is  a  wiser  man  who 
attends  to  it. 

2.  Great  hearts  have  largest  room  to  bless  the  small 
Strong  natures  give  the  weaker  home  and  rest. 

3.  For  'tis  the  mind  that  makes  the  body  rich 

And  as  the  sun  breaks  through  the  darkest  clouds 
So  honor  peereth  in  the  meanest  habit. 


404  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH    COxMPOSITION 

4.  The  flail  was  thrown  on  the  barn  floor  the  spade  rusted  in  the 
garden  the  plow  stood  idle  in  the  furrow. 

5-  The  reenforcements  had  not  arrived  a  part  of  the  command  was 
broken  thousands  had  been  taken  prisoners  and  thousands  had  fled  to  the 
rear. 

6.  Mrs.  Halifax  sat  down  by  the  roadside  bathed  Muriel's  forehead  and 
smoothed  her  hair  but  still  the  little  curls  lay  motionless  and  still  to  every 
question  she  only  answered  that  she  was  not  hurt. 

7.  Boabdil  still  silent  heard  the  groans  and  exclamations  of  his  train  he 
turned  to  cheer  or  chide  them  and  saw  from  his  own  watch  tower  with  the 
sun  shining  full  upon  its  pure  and  dazzling  surface  the  silver  cross  of  Spain. 

8.  The  left  hand  bore  the  distaff  wrapped  in  soft  wool  the  right  hand 
lightly  withdrawing  the  threads  with  upturned  fingers  did  shape  them 
twisting  them  with  the  thumb  it  turned  the  spindle. 

2.    The  semicolon  is  used  before  "  as,"  "  that  is,"  "  namely," 
and  other  words  that  introduce  examples  and  explanations. 
Note.  —  Such  introductory  words  are  followed  by  a  comma. 

Ex.  —  Some  abstract  nouns  are  formed  from  verbs ;  as,  belief  from 
believe. 

The  inhabitants  asked  our  favor;  namely,  permission  to  retain  their 
weapons,  but  this  was  denied. 

Forests  influence  rainfall ;  that  is,  more  rain  falls  over  the  forest  than 
over  open  country  similarly  placed,  but  how  much  it  is  impossible  to  say. 

EXERCISE    XIII 

Insert  semicolons  and  commas  where  necessary  in  the  following  sen- 
tences : 

1.  James  I  at  once  proclaimed  the  doctrine  of  the  Divine  Right  of 
Kings  that  is  the  theory  that  the  king  derives  his  power  directly  from  God 
and  is  in  no  way  responsible  to  the  people. 

2.  There  is  one  great  safeguard  against  European  intrusion  namely  the 
Monroe  Doctrine. 

3.  Gladstone  was  willing  to  conciliate  the  Boers  that  is  he  was  willing 
to  acknowledge  their  right  to  govern  themselves  subject  to  British  control. 

4.  The  plural  sign  of  a  compound  word  is  usually  added  to  the  main 
part  of  the  compound  as  rear-admirals. 


THE    PUNCTUA'J'IOX    OF   THE    SENTENCE  405 

5.  Let  Washington's  career  be  at  once  our  inspiration  and  our  rebulce 
that  is  let  it  call  forth  whatever  is  lofty  fair  and  patriotic  and  shame  what- 
ever is  base  selfish  and  unworthy. 

3.  A  series  of  dependent  clauses  in  the  same  construction 
may  be  separated  by  semicolons. 

Ex.  —  General  Grant  believed  that  we  should  turn  our  faces  westward ; 
that  Europe  already  had  a  population  equal  to  its  capacity  ;  that  the  people 
with  whom  we  should  cultivate  alliance  were  the  people  south  of  us  upon 
this  continent  and  the  people  west  of  us  upon  the  Asiatic  continent. 

EXERCISE   XIV 

Insert  the  semicolon  where  necessary  in  the  following  sentences : 

1.  Peter  the  Hermit  had  proclaimed  that  Jerusalem  was  closed  to 
Christian  nations  and  that  pilgrims  were  massacred  plundered  and  sold 
into  slavery. 

2.  I  have  heard  much  of  the  reverses  that  followed  the  war  in  the  South 
how  the  rich  acres  of  the  planters  have  become  a  squalid  waste  how  the 
negro  dwells  in  the  ruined  mansion  of  his  former  master  how  the  country 
gentleman,  with  his  horses  and  his  hounds  and  all  the  splendid  accessories 
of  his  social  life,  has  abandoned  his  ancestral  estate  forever. 

I  The  Colon 

1.  A  colon  is  used  between  a  statement  and  its  explanation 
when  the  connective  is  omitted. 

Ex. — The  weakness  of  Russia  lies  within  the  nation  itself:  three 
fourths  of  the  people  can  neither  read  nor  write ;  there  is  no  free  press  ; 
and  the  Czar  is  controlled  by  his  ministers  who  represent  the  interests  of 
the  aristocracy. 

2.  A  colon  is  used  between  a  statement  and  a  list  of  illus- 
trations or  specifications. 

Ex.  —  A  peace  conference  was  organized  in  January,  1901,  at  the  Hague 
by  the  representatives  of  fifteen  of  the  greater  nations :  Austria-Hungary, 
Belgium,  Denmark.  France,  England,  Germany,  Holland,  Italy,  Japan, 
Portugal,  Roumania,  Russia,  Spain,  and  the  United  States. 


4o6  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITIOX 

3.    A  colon  is  used  before  a  long  or  a  formal  quotation. 

Ex.  —  Charles  Dickens  said :  "  No  one  is  useless  in  the  world,  who 
lightens  the  burdens  of  it  for  any  one  else.'' 

Then  he  said  with  a  smile  :  "  I  should  have  remembered  the  adage, 
'If  you  would  be  well  served,  you  must  serve  yourself  ;  and,  moreover, 
"  No  man  can  gather  cherries  in  Kent  at  the  season  of  Christmas  ! '  " 

EXERCISE    XV 

Insert  commas,  semicolons,  and  colons  where  necessary  in  the  following 
sentences  : 

1 .  As  the  enemy  did  not  move  he  sent  off  two  parties  one  to  lie  con- 
cealed in  a  wood  on  the  left  of  the  French  and  the  other  to  set  fire  to 
some  houses  behind  the  French  after  the  battle  should  begin. 

2.  Four  great  watercourses  having  their  sources  in  the  same  moun- 
tains divided  New  France  the  St.  Lawrence  the  River  of  the  West  the 
Bourdon  and  the  Meschacebe  or  Mississippi. 

3.  We  feel  the  magic  of  the  season  in  the  words 

"  The  year's  at  the  spring 
And  day's  at  the  morn 
Morning's  at  seven 
The  hillside's  dew-pearled 
The  lark's  on  the  wing 
The  snail's  on  the  thorn 
God's   in  His  Heaven  — 
All's  right  with  the  world."' 

4.  There  are  three  wicks  to  the  lamp  of  a  man's  life  brain  blood  and 
breath. 

5.  When  King  Ferdinand  turned  away  from  Columbus  in  scorn 
Isabella  the  queen  spoke  her  famous  decision  ''  I  will  undertake  the  enter- 
prise for  mine  own  crown  of  Castile  and  am  ready  to  pawn  my  crown 
jewels  for  the  expenses." 

6.  Time  has  not  thrown  dignity  as  a  mantle  over  the  old  man  there  is 
nothing  venerable  about  him  you  pity  him  without  scruple. 

7.  During  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  the  world  had  suddenly  grown  larger 
it  had  opened  toward  the  east  in  the  revival  of  classic  learning  it  had 
opened  toward  the  west  in  the  discovery  of  a  continent. 

8.  A  Canadian  writer  lately  states  that  his  countrymen  have  been  dis- 
cussing   four  alternatives  any  one  of  which  may  become  the  destiny  of 


THK    PUNXTUATION   OF   THE    SENTENCE 


407 


Canada  (i)  remaining  as  it  is  (2)  Annexation  to  the  United  States  (3;  In- 
dependence (4)   Membership  in  a  new  British  Empire. 

9.  When  Sir  Walter  presented  the  burgesses  to  the  king  they  knelt 
down  and  said  "  Gentle  king  behold  here  are  we  six  who  were  burgesses  of 
Calais  and  great  merchants.  We  have  brought  the  keys  of  the  town  and 
of  the  castle  and  we  submit  ourselves  clearly  into  your  will  and  pleasure,'" 

10.  In  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and  nine  were  born  Gladstone  the 
statesman  Darwin  the  scientist  Tennyson  the  poet  and  Abraham  Lincoln 
the  man  of  the  people. 

The  Dash 

1.  An  abrupt  break  in  thought  is  indicated  by  a  dash. 

Ex.  —  If  you  wish  me  to  sharpen  your  knife — by  the  way  where  did 
you  buy  that  knife  ? 

2.  Words  or  groups  of  words  which  denote  a  sudden  inter- 
ruption in  the  thought  of  a  sentence  are  separated  from  the 
rest  of  the  sentence  by  dashes. 

Ex.  —  Some  —  and  they  were  not  a  few  —  knelt  down. 

3.  Strong  emotion  may  be  indicated  by  the  dash. 

Ex.  —  "  O  please  drive  on,  sir  —  don't  stop  —  and  go  toward  the  city, 
will  you  ?  " 

EXERCISE    XVI 

Insert  the  dash  where  necessary  in  the  following  sentences : 

1.  Then,  entering  the  cottage  where  all  was  in  distress  for  the  boy 
Triptolemus  seemed  past  recovery  she  restored  the  child  to  life  and  health. 

2.  "You  are  right,''  said  the  Saracen,  and  it  was  the  first  word  that 
either  had  spoken  since  their  truce  was  concluded  "your  strong  horse 
deserves  your  care." 

3.  How's  this  from  the  Soldan! 

4.  Rough  people  paths  never  made  for  little  feet  like  yours  a  dismal 
blighted  way  is  there  no  turning  back  my  child  ! 

5.  It  is  clear  that  Kidd  if  Kidd  indeed  secreted  the  treasure  which  I 
doubt  not  it  is  clear  that  he  must  have  had  assistance  in  the  labor. 

6.  But  to  be  a  drummer  a  drummer  one  meter  seventy  in  height,  with 


4o8  PRACTICAL    ENGLISH    COMPOSITION 

flaming  red  hair  and  a  freckled  face  a  drummer  who  was  called  little  Tapin  ; 
and  to  have  for  one's  most  important  duty,  to  drum  the  loungers  out  of  a 
public  garden  !     No,  evidently  he  would  desert. 

7.  Now,  although  Bayley  left  his  son-in-law  a  hotel  which  sounds  hand- 
some he  left  him  no  guests ;  for,  about  the  period  of  the  old  man's  death, 
the  old  stage-coach  died  also. 

8.  There  isn't  any  colonial  mansion  on  the  other  side  of  the  road,  there 
isn't  any  piazza,  there  isn't  any  hammock,  there  isn't  any  Margery  Daw. 

Parentheses 

Explanatory  expressions  which  are  grammatically  independ- 
ent are  inclosed  in  parentheses. 

Ex.  —  Kit  scraped  his  shoes  very  carefully  (for  he  had  not  yet  lost  his 
reverence  for  the  bundles  of  papers  and  tin  boxes)  and  tapped  at  the  office 
door,  which  was  quickly  opened  by  the  notary  himself. 

Quotation  Marks 

1.  A  direct  quotation  is  inclosed  in  double  quotation  marks. 
Note  I.  —  Indirect  quotations  are  not  inclosed  in  quotation 

marks ;  as, 

The  master  said  that  he  would  consider  the  boy's  request. 

Note  2.  —  If  a  quotation  consists  of  more  than  one  para- 
graph, double  quotation  marks  are  placed  at  the  beginning 
of  each  paragraph  and  at  the  end  of  the  last. 

2.  Titles  of  books,  essays,  poems,  and  periodicals  are  often 
inclosed  in  quotation  marks. 

Ex.  —  I  have  just  ordered  a  copy  of  "  Stories  New  and  Old,"  edited  by 
Hamilton  Wright  Mabie. 

''Dora,"  "The  Gardner's  Daughter,"  and  -The  Miller's  Daughter" 
present  pictures  of  English  country  life. 

Have  you  decided  to  subscribe  for  "The  Atlantic  Monthly"  ? 

In  the  "Essay  on  Johnson,"  Macaulay  arouses  our  sympathy  as  well  at» 
our  admiration. 


THE    PUNCTUATION   OF   HIE    SENTENCE 


409 


3.  A  quotation  within  a  quotation  is  inclosed  in  single 
quotation  marks. 

Ex.  —  "  These  flowers,"  said  she,  "  tempt  me  ;  they  seem  to  say, '  Come, 
and  do  something  with  us ' ;  but  once  I  have  cut  them,  the  charm  is  gone." 

4.  When  quotations  occur  one  within  another,  double  and 
single  marks  are  used  alternately. 

Ex.  —  "I  heard  my  father  say  to  my  uncle,  '  You  said  to  me  last  year, 
"I  will  never  take  such  a  risk  again,"  and  now  you  have  not  kept  your 
word.' " 

EXERCISE   XVII 

Insert  quotation  marks  and  whatever  other  punctuation  may  be  neces- 
sary in  the  following  sentences  : 

1.  What  is  it  now  child  asked  the  maiden  lady  rather  impatiently  did 
you  come  back  to  shut  the  door 

No  answered  the  urchin  pointing  to  the  figure  that  had  just  been  put 
up  I  want  that  other  Jim  Crow 

2.  Come  Phoebe  said  Hepzibah  it  is  time  to  bring  in  the  currants 

3.  Shall  you  subscribe  for  The  Century  or  Harper's  Magazine 

4.  Well  well  friend  Scipio  let  your  master  know  that  I  am  coming  said 
the  carpenter  with  a  laugh 

5.  Messieurs  said  Montcalm  advancing  towards  them  a  step  in  gen- 
erous interest  you  little  know  Louis  de  St.  Veran  if  you  believe  him  capable 
of  profiting  by  this  letter  to  humble  brave  men  as  to  build  up  a  dishonest 
reputation  for  himself  listen  to  my  terms  before  you  leave  me 

What  .says  the  Frenchman  demanded  the  veteran  sternly  does  he  make 
a  merit  of  having  captured  a  scout  with  a  note  from  headquarters  sir  he 
had  better  raise  this  siege  to  go  and  sit  down  before  Edward  if  he  wishes 
to  frighten  his  enemy  with  words 

Duncan  explained  the  other's  meaning 

Monsieur  de  Montcalm  we  will  hear  you  the  veteran  added  more  calmly 
as  Duncan  ended 

To  retain  the  fort  is  now  impossible  said  his  liberal  enemy  and  it  is 
necessary  to  the  interests  of  my  master  that  it  should  be  destroyed  but  as 
far  as  you  and  your  brave  comrades  are  concerned  there  is  no  privilege 
dear  to  a  soldier  that  shall  be  denied 

Our  colors  demanded  Hey  ward 


4IO 


PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 


Carry  them  to  England  and  show  them  to  your  king 

Our  arms 

Keep  them  none  can  use  them  better 

Our  march  the  surrender  of  the  place 

Shall  be  done  in  a  way  most  honorable  to  you 

Duncan  now  turned  to  explain  these  proposals  to  his  commander  who 
heard  with  amazement  and  was  deeply  touched  by  such  unusual  unexpected 
generosity 

Go  you  Duncan  he  said  go  with  this  marquess  as  indeed  marquess  he 
should  be  go  to  his  marquee  and  arrange  it  all 

So  saying  the  veteran  returned  slowly  to  the  fort  exhibiting  by  the 
dejection  of  his  air  to  the  anxious  garrison  a  harbinger  of  evil  tidings. 

The  Hyphen 

1.  The  hyphen  is  used  between  the  members  of  a  com- 
pound word ;  as,  Graeco-Persian,  whip-poor-will,  bird's-eye. 

2.  The  hyphen  is  used  to  indicate  the  separation  of  a  word 
at  the  end  of  a  line. 

Note  I.  —  The  separation  should  be  made  only  at  the  end  of 
a  syllable. 

Note  2.  —  When  the  syllable  consists  of  a  single  letter,  no 
separation  should  be  made. 

Note  3.  —  When  a  hyphen  is  used  between  two  syllables,  one 
of  which  comes  at  the  end  of  one  line  and  the  other  at  the 
beginning  of  the  next  line,  the  hyphen  is  used  after  the  sylla- 
ble at  the  end  of  the  first  line,  never  before  the  syllable  at 
the  beginning  of  the  second  line. 

Capital  Letters 

I.  The  first  word  of  every  sentence,  the  first  word  of  every 
Une  of  poetry,  and  the  first  word  of  every  direct  quotation 
should  begin  with  a  capital  letter. 

Ex.  —  The  picture  represents  a  meadow,  with  a  far-stretching,  treeless 
road  fading  into  the  sunset  sky  in  the  distance. 


THE   PUNCTUATION   OF   THE   SENTENCE  411 

"  Your  voices  break  and  falter  in  the  darkness,  — 
Break,  falter,  and  are  still." 
He  continued,  "  The  man  who  is  among  us  represents  the  king." 

2.  Official  and  honorary  titles  begin  with  capital  letters 
when  they  are  used  formally  or  when  they  precede  a  proper 
name. 

Ex.  —  King  Edward  VII  caused  much  consternation  by  vetoing  the  bill. 
Lieutenant  Winston  was  the  first  witness. 
The  last  speaker  was  the  Honorable  John  Bell. 
The  President  has  just  sent  his  message  to  Congress. 

Note.  —  When  the  title  is  a  compound  word,  each  member 
of  the  compound  begins  with  a  capital  letter ;  as,  Brigadier- 
General  Miles. 

3.  All  names  of  the  Deity  begin  with  capital  letters. 

Ex.  —  "  'Tis  heaven  alone  that  is  given  away, 

'Tis  only  God  may  be  had  for  the  asking." 
King  of  kings.     Hear  us,  O  Father. 

4.  Pronouns  referring  to  the  Deity  usually  begin  with 
capital  letters  for  the  sake  of  clearness  and  emphasis. 

Ex.  — Remember  His  words,  ''  Fear  not,  I  am  with  thee." 
O  Thou  Everlasting  Father,  look  down  upon  us. 

5.  The  words  Bible  and  Scriptures,  when  referred  to  as 
books  of  Holy  Writ,  begin  with  capital  letters. 

6.  I  and  O  are  always  written  as  capitals. 

Ex.  —  Then  Sohrab  said,  '' O  Peran  Wisa,  it  is  I." 

7.  All  proper  nouns  begin  with  capital  letters. 

Ex.  —  District  of  Columbia  ;  American  Revolution  ;  Middle  Ages  ^ 
Episcopalians ;  Republicans. 

8.  The  words  street,  avenue,  place,  park,  gulf,  bay,  strait, 
cape,  river,  mountain,  etc.,  when  used  as  parts  of  proper 
names  begin  with  capital  letters. 


412  PRACTICAL    ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

Ex. — The  Colorado  River  rises  in  the  Wind  River  Mountains  in 
Wyoming  and  empties  into  the  Gulf  of  California. 

9.  When  the  words  north,  south,  east,  and  west  are  used 
as  names  of  sections  of  a  country,  they  begin  with  capital  let- 
ters. 

Ex.  —  They  have  settled  in  the  West. 

Note.  —  North,  south,  east,  and  west  do  not  begin  with  capi- 
tals when  they  denote  simply  the  points  of  the  compass. 

Ex.  —  The  wind  was  blowing  from  the  east. 

10.  Adjectives  and  verbs  derived  from  proper  nouns  begin 
with  capital  letters. 

Ex.  — The  Sp:irtan  force  did  not  arrive  in  time. 

1 1.  The  names  of  the  days  of  the  week  and  of  the  months 
of  the  year  begin  with  capital  letters. 

Ex.  —  Please  return  the  book  on  or  before  Tuesday.  August  second. 

Note.  —  Names  of  the  seasons  are  not  capitalized. 

The  winter  was  unusually  long. 

12.  Words  denoting  kinship  when  used  as  names  or  as 
parts  of  proper  nouns  begin  with  capital  letters. 

_.  f  Have  vou  heard  from  Mother  or  Father  this  week  ? 

I  Aunt  Augusta  and  Cousin  Margaret  have  arrived. 
\  Have  you  heard  from  your  mother  or  father  this  week  ? 
[  My  aunt  and  my  cousin  have  arrived. 

13.  All  important  words  in  the  titles  of  books,  poems, 
essays,  and  magazines  begin  with  capital  letters. 

Ex.  —  "  Toilers  of  the  Sea." 

''The  Ring  and  the  Book.'' 
''Oxford  in  the  Vacation." 
"  The  Outlook." 


THE    PUNCTUATION   OF   THE    SENTENCE  413 

EXERCISE   XVIII 

Insert  the  necessary  capitals  in  the  following  sentences : 

1 .  I  have  written  to  mother  that  I  shall  return  by  way  of  Cleveland  in 
order  to  visit  uncle  John. 

2.  My  father  and  my  brother  are  graduates  of  harvard  university. 

3.  The  president  of  the  united  states  is  commander  in  chief  of  the 
american  army. 

4.  Ruskin  says,  "  I  think  the  noblest  sea  that  turner  has  ever  painted, 
and,  if  so,  the  noblest  ever  painted  by  man,  is  that  of  the  slave  ship,  the 
chief  academy  picture  of  the  exhibition  of  1840." 

5.  The  present  shah  of  persia  has  granted  many  privileges  to  his 
people. 

6.  Lincoln's  favorite  hymn  o  why  should  the  spirit  of  mortal  be  proud 
was  sung  in  many  schools  on  his  centennial. 

7.  The  fact  that  so  many  foreigners  become  americanized  means  much 
to  our  nation. 

8.  eden  phillpotts  lived  in  chagford,  dartmoor,  while  writing  the  chil- 
dren of  the  mist  the  book  by  which  he  is  known  better  than  any  other. 

9.  The  village  people  are  quite  proud  to  own  that  billy  blee  was  a  real 
chagford  man,  and  any  driver  will  go  out  of  his  way  to  point  out  the  road 
to  fenworthy,  which  passes  by  the  newtake  farm,  where  will  and  phoebe 
lived. 

10.  Last  week,  at  the  meeting  of  the  civic  forum  in  new  york  city,  mr. 
hardie  described  the  aims  and  accomplishments  of  the  party. 

11.  The  rugged  heroism  of  the  Servian  race  did  much  in  the  middle 
ages  to  save  western  Europe  from  the  turks. 

12.  The  united  states  senate  has  passed  the  anti-opium  bill,  which  for- 
bids the  importation  into  this  country  after  april  i,  1909,  of  smoking  opium 
in  any  form.  Opium  for  medicinal  purposes  may  be  imported  under  regu- 
lations established  by  the  secretary  of  agriculture. 

13.  The  president  sent  a  dispatch  to  the  governor  of  California  remon- 
strating against  the  bill  providing  for  the  education  of  Japanese  children 
in  separate  schools. 

14.  "Vanity  fair:    a  novel  without  a  hero.'" 
"  Waverly  ;  or  "tis  si.xty  years  since.'' 

''  Impressions  of  a  careless  traveler." 

15.  I  took  the  charcoal  and  bravely  drew  the  outlines:  •' very  good." 
said  my  master. 


414  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH   COMPOSITION 

MISCELLANEOUS  EXERCISES 

Insert  the  marks  of  punctuation  necessary  in  the  following  sentences, 
and  state  rules  for  the  marks  used : 

1.  The  singing  birds  have  opened  their  bills  returned  Uncas  in  the 
softest  notes  of  his  own  musical  voice  and  Tamenund  has  heard  their  song 

2.  He  was  stylishly  dressed  in  a  blue  broadcloth  coat  with  gold  lace 
at  the  seams  an  embroidered  scarlet  waistcoat  a  triangular  hat  with  a  loop 
and  broad  binding  of  gold  and  wore  a  silver  hilted  hanger  at  his  side 

3.  At  a  distance  but  distinctly  to  be  seen  high  up  in  the  golden  light 
of  the  setting  sun  appeared  a  great  stone  face  with  hoary  mist  around  it 
like  the  white  hairs  around  the  brow  of  christ. 

4.  miss  Ophelia's  ideas  of  education  could  be  taught  in  very  few  words 
to  teach  them  to  mind  when  spoken  to  to  teach  them  the  catechism  sewing 
and  reading  and  to  whip  them  if  they  told  lies 

5.  As  he  caught  their  glances  he  drew  his  hard  hand  hastily  across 
his  eyes  again  waved  it  on  high  for  an  adieu  and  uttering  a  forced  cry 
to  his  dogs  who  were  crouching  at  his  feet  he  entered  the  forest 

6.  Late  in  the  evening  I  heard  the  distant  rumbling  of  wagons  over 
bridges  a  sound  heard  farther  than  almost  any  other  at  night  the  baying 
of  dogs  and  sometimes  again  the  lowing  of  some  disconsolate  cow  in  the 
barnyard 

7.  And  faith  as  the  wife  was  aptly  called  thrust  her  own  pretty  head 
into  the  street  letting  the  wind  play  with  the  pink  ribbons  of  her  cap  while 
she  called  to  goodman  brown 

8.  And  now  glad  leafy  midsummer  full  of  blossom  and  the  song  of 
nightingales  is  come  and  in  every  village  there  is  a  maypole  fifty  feet  high 
with  wreaths  and  roses  and  ribbands  streaming  in  the  wind  and  a  noisy 
weathercock  on  top  to  tell  whence  the  wind  cometh  and  whither  it  goeth 

9.  From  its  height  the  vale  the  river  the  spires  of  the  tow^ers  of  Gra- 
nada broke  gloriously  upon  the  view  of  the  little  band 

10.  The  marsh  grass  was  wind-swept  and  beaten  until  it  looked  as  soft 
and  brown  as  fur  the  wind  had  free  course  over  it  and  it  looked  like  a 
deserted  bit  of  the  world 

11.  The  egremonts  had  never  said  anything  that  was  remembered  or 
had  done  anything  that  could  be  recalled 

12.  My  story  being  done  she  gave  me  for  my  pains  a  world  of  sighs 

13.  But  our  colonel  we  were  all  obliged  to  acknowledge  was  more  our 
friend  of  old  days 


THE  PUNCTUATION  OF  THE  SENTENCE 


415 


14.  It  is  time  too  for  me  to  leave  off  resting  my  arms  on  the  bridge 

15.  The  grand  principle  of  war  he  said  was  that  an  army  ought  always 
to  be  ready  by  day  and  by  night  and  at  all  hours 

16.  Now  while  she  wept  bowed  like  a  lotus  flower 
that  watches  its  own  shadow  in  the  nile 

a  stillness  seemed  to  fall  upon  the  land 

17.  Every  duty  which  is  bidden  to  wait  returns  with  seven  fresh  duties 
at  its  back 

18.  The  english  adopted  stern  measures  the  boer  farms  were  burned 
their  inhabitants  gathered  in  prison  camps  and  the  country  made  a  desert 

19.  Hail  beauteous  stranger  of  the  grove 
thou  messenger  of  spring 

20.  Longfellow  is  telling  of  his  boyhood  days  in  the  words 

I  remember  the  bulwarks  by  the  shore 

and  the  fort  upon  the  hill 
the  sunrise  gun  with  its  hollow  roar 
the  drum  beat  repeated  o'er  and  o'er 
the  bugle  wild  and  shrill 
and  the  music  of  that  old  song 
throbs  in  my  memory  still 
a  boy's  will  is  the  wind's  will 
and  the  thoughts  of  youth  are  long  long  thoughts 

21.  The  rest  of  the  pretty  sitting  room  looking  into  the  orchard  and  all 
covered  over  with  dancing  tree  shadows  was  fitted  with  books 

22.  The  peasant  is  dependent  on  two  things  the  field  which  yields  his 
nourishment  the  wood  where  he  hides 

23.  It  was  in  the  time  that  lilies  blow 

24.  To  him  replied  the  bold  sir  bedivere 
it  is  not  meet  sir  king  to  leave  thee  thus 
aidless  alone  and  smitten  through  the  helm 

25.  When  the  night  was  come  from  the  blackened  sky 
the  spear  tongued  lightning  slipped  like  a  snake 

26.  How  poor  are  they  that  have  not  patience 

27.  All  great  art  is  the  expression  of  man's  delight  in  God's  work  not 
his  own 

28.  Everything  was  locked  up  the  salt  box  the  meat  safe  the  coal  cellar 
the  candle  box  were  all  padlocked 

29.  Lo  in  the  vapors  the  sun  colossal  and  crimson  and  beamless 
touches  the  woodland  fingers  of  air  prepare  for  the  downfall 


41 6  PRACTICAL   ENGLISH    COMPOSITION 

30.  The  petition  of  right  known  as  the  second  great  charter  of  the  lib- 
erties of  england  declared  (i)  that  no  one  should  be  compelled  to  pay  any 
tax  or  to  supply  the  king  with  money  except  by  order  of  act  of  parliament 

(2)  that  neither  soldiers  nor  sailors  should  be  quartered  in  private  houses 

(3)  that  no  one  should  be  imprisoned  or  punished  contrary  to  law 

31.  Stretching  far  away  at  their  feet  were  seen  noble  forests  of  oaks 
sycamore  and  cedar  and  beyond  yellow  fields  of  maize  and  the  towering 
maguey  intermingled  with  orchards  and  blooming  gardens 

32.  Bronze  has  this  advantage  over  stone  stone  although  hard  is  brit- 
tle but  bronze  is  not  only  hard  but  tough 

;^^.  Finding  nothing  however  very  remarkable  in  his  aspect  nothing 
but  a  sunburnt  wayfarer  in  plain  garb  and  dusty  shoes  who  sat  looking 
into  the  fire  as  if  he  fancied  pictures  among  the  coals  these  young  people 
speedily  grew  tired  of  observing  him 

34.  Happiness  consists  in  activity  it  is  a  running  stream  not  a  stagnant 
pool 

35.  Well  here  it  is  for  you  said  hepzibah  reaching  it  down  but  recogniz- 
ing that  this  customer  would  not  quit  her  on  any  other  terms  so  long  as 
she  had  a  gingerbread  figure  in  her  shop  she  partly  drew  back  her 
extended  hand  where  is  the  cent 

36.  The  state  of  California  freely  ceded  the  yosemite  valley  to  the  fed- 
eral government 

37.  We  watched  the  parade  while  it  passed  along  the  avenue  and  then 
went  to  make  a  call  on  cedar  avenue 

38.  While  we  were  at  intervale  n  h  i  climbed  mount  kearsarge 

39.  The  mountain  road  was  perilous  but  the  view  of  crystal  lake  was 
well  worth  both  inconvenience  and  danger 

40.  They  have  decided  to  make  their  home  in  the  west  but  I  fear  that 
they  will  not  be  content  western  ways  are  not  ways  of  the  south 

Insert  the  punctuation  necessary  in  the  following  selections : 

I.     The  Story  of  Cincinnatus 

In  the  old  days  of  Rome  there  lived  a  citizen  Lucius  Quinctius  by  name 
called  Cincinnatus  or  the  crisp-haired  on  account  of  his  long  curly  hair. 
He  cared  nothing  for  wealth  and  lived  contentedly  on  his  small  farm 
across  the  Tiber. 

While  Cincinnatus  was  busy  plowing  his  land  Rome  kept  at  its  old 
work  of  plowing  the  nations.  The  /Equians  a  neighboring  people  had 
plundered  the  lands  of  .some  of  the  allies  of  Kouu'  and  when  dejnitics  were 


THE   PUNCTUATION   OF  THE   SENTENCE  417 

sent  to  complain  of  the  wrong  Gracchus  the  .Equian  chief  received  them 
with  mockery.  He  was  sitting  in  his  tent  which  was  pitched  in  the  shade 
of  a  great  oak  when  the  deputies  arrived. 

I  am  busy  with  other  matters  he  answered  them  I  cannot  hear  you  you 
had  better  tell  your  message  to  the  oak  yonder 

Yes  said  one  of  the  deputies  let  this  sacred  oak  hear  and  let  all  the  gods 
hear  how  treacherously  you  have  broken  the  peace  They  shall  hear  it  now 
and  soon  avenge  for  you  have  scorned  alike  the  laws  of  the  gods  and 
men. 

The  deputies  returned  to  Rome  and  reported  how  they  had  been  in- 
sulted. The  senate  at  once  declared  war  and  an  army  was  sent  to  Algidus 
where  the  enemy  lay. 

Gracchus  the  yEquian  general  pretending  to  be  afraid  of  the  Romans 
retreated  before  them  drawing  them  into  a  narrow  valley  on  each  side  of 
which  rose  high  steep  and  barren  hills.  Then  he  sent  a  force  to  close  the 
entrance  to  the  valley.  The  Romans  found  themselves  caught  in  a  trap 
impassable  hills  in  front  and  on  each  side  and  a  strong  body  of  the 
yEquians  guarding  the  entrance 

There  was  no  grass  for  the  horses  no  food  for  the  men  and  no  chance  of 
escape 

But  before  the  road  was  quite  closed  five  horsemen  had  managed  to  break 
through  and  these  rode  with  all  speed  to  Rome  where  they  reported  to  the 
senate  the  desperate  situation  of  the  consul  and  his  army.  A  consultation 
took  place  which  ended  in  a  decree  of  the  senate  appointing  Lucius 
Quinctius  Dictator  that  is  a  man  above  the  law  with  absolute  power. 

Early  the  ne.xt  morning  while  Cincinnatus  was  at  work  on  his  farm 
never  dreaming  that  he  a  plain  husbandman  had  been  chosen  to  save 
the  state  deputies  from  the  senate  arrived. 

Hail  to  you  Lucius  Quinctius  they  said.  The  senate  has  declared  you 
Master  of  the  People  and  has  sent  us  to  call  you  to  the  city  for  the  consul 
and  the  army  in  the  country  of  the  ^Equians  are  in  danger. 

Leaving  his  spade  Cincinnatus  hastened  with  the  deputies  to  Rome 
where  he  was  received  with  the  highest  honor.  There  he  quickly  proved 
himself  worthy  of  the  trust  that  had  been  placed  in  him.  All  booths  were 
closed  and  lawsuits  were  stopped  men  were  forbidden  to  look  after  their 
own  affairs  while  a  Roman  army  lay  in  peril.  Orders  were  given  that 
every  man  old  enough  to  go  to  battle  should  appear  in  the  Field  of  Mars 
before  sunset  with  his  arms  five  days'  rations  and  twelve  stakes.  Such 
haste  was  made  that  before  the  sun  had  set  an  army  was  ready  equipped 


4i8  PRACTICAL  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION 

as  commanded  in  the  Field  of  Mars  and  before  midnight  they  were  in  the 
vicinity  of  Algidus  near  the  hostile  camp  of  the  ^quians. 

After  careful  inspection  Cincinnatus  ordered  his  men  to  throw  down 
their  baggage  and  to  keep  only  their  arms  and  stakes.  Marching  stealthily 
forward  they  extended  their  lines  until  the  ^^quians  were  completely  sur- 
rounded. Then  at  a  given  signal  a  shout  was  raised  and  each  soldier  be- 
gan to  dig  a  ditch  where  he  stood  and  to  plant  his  stakes  in  the  ground. 

The  shout  awakened  the  i^quians  filling  them  with  dismay  and  it 
reached  the  ears  of  the  despairing  Romans  in  the  valley  inspiring  them 
with  hope.  Raising  an  answering  battle  shout  they  sallied  forth  and 
fought  so  desperately  that  the  ^quians  were  prevented  from  interrupting 
the  work  of  the  outer  army.  All  night  the  battle  went  on  and  when  morn- 
ing dawned  the  yEquians  found  that  a  ditch  and  a  palisade  had  been  made 
around  their  camp.  Finding  themselves  between  two  armies  and  as 
closely  walled  in  as  the  Romans  in  the  valley  had  been  they  threw  down 
their  arms  and  begged  for  mercy. 

When  asked  on  what  terms  he  would  spare  their  lives,  Cincinnatus  said 
give  me  gracchus  and  your  other  chiefs  bound.  As  for  you  you  can  have 
your  lives  on  one  condition.  I  will  set  two  spears  upright  in  the  ground 
and  put  a  third  spear  across.  Every  man  giving  up  his  arms  and  cloak 
shall  pass  under  this  yoke  and  may  then  go  free. 

To  go  under  the  yoke  was  accounted  the  greatest  dishonor  to  a  soldier 
but  the  yEquains  were  forced  to  submit.  They  delivered  to  the  Romans 
their  king  and  their  chiefs  left  their  camp  with  all  its  spoils  to  the  foe  and 
passed  under  the  crossed  spears  their  heads  bowed  with  shame.  Thus 
was  Gracchus  punished  for  his  pride. 

That  same  evening  Cincinnatus  arrived  in  Rome  with  the  two  Roman 
armies.  In  less  than  a  day's  time  he  had  saved  a  roman  army  and  humili- 
ated the  insolent  ^quians.  The  senate  decreed  that  Cincinnatus  should 
enter  the  city  in  triumph.  He  rode  in  his  chariot  through  the  gates 
gracchus  and  the  yEquian  chiefs  being  led  in  fetters  before  him.  All 
Rome  gave  itself  up  to  feasting  and  merrymaking. 

Then  Cincinnatus  laid  down  his  power  and  returned  to  his  farm  glad  to 
have  served  Rome  but  caring  nothing  for  the  pomp  and  authority  that  he 
might  have  gained. 

H.   Apollo  and  Hvacinthus 

Apollo  dearly  loved  the  youth  Hyacinthus.  He  accompanied  him  in 
his  sports  carried  the  nets  when  he  went  fishing  led  the  dogs  when  he 


THE  PUNCTUATION  OF  THE  SENTENCE 


419 


hunted  and  neglected  for  him  his  lyre  and  his  arrows.  One  day  as  they 
were  playing  a  game  of  quoits  Apollo  heaving  the  discus  with  strength  and 
skill  sent  it  high  and  far.  Hyacinthus  ran  forward  to  seize  it  eager  to 
make  his  throw  when  the  quoit  bounded  from  the  earth  and  struck  him  in 
the  forehead.  He  fainted  and  fell.  The  god  as  pale  as  the  youth  raised 
him  and  tried  with  all  his  art  to  stanch  the  wound  and  retain  the  flitting 
life  but  all  in  vain.  The  hurt  was  past  the  power  of  medicine.  As  when 
one  has  broken  the  stem  of  a  lily  it  hangs  its  head  and  turns  its  flowers  to 
the  earth  so  the  head  of  the  boy  fell  over  on  his  shoulder.  Thou  diest 
Hyacinth  so  spake  Phoebus  robbed  of  thy  youth  by  me.  Thine  is  the 
suffering:  mine  the  crime.  Would  that  I  could  die  for  thee  !  But  since 
that  may  not  be  thou  shalt  live  with  me  in  memory  and  song.  My  lyre 
shall  celebrate  thee  my  song  shall  tell  thy  fate  and  thou  shalt  become  a 
flower  inscribed  with  my  regrets.  While  Apollo  spoke  a  flower  of  hue 
more  beautiful  than  the  Tyrian  purple  sprang  up  resembling  the  lily  if  it 
were  not  that  this  is  purple  and  that  silvery  white.  And  this  was  not 
enough  for  Phoebus  but  to  confer  still  greater  honor  he  marked  the  petals 
with  his  sorrow  and  inscribed  ah  ah  upon  them  as  we  see  to  this  day. 
The  flower  bears  the  memory  of  his  fate. 


INDEX 


Abbreviations,  226,  227,  394;  of  states, 
territories,  and  possessions  of  United 
States,  231,  232;  period  after,  394. 

Absolute  construction,  punctuation  of 
phrases  in,  397. 

Acatalectic  verse,  367. 

Adage,  interpretation  or  application  of, 
297-299. 

Address,  direct,  396. 

Adjective  clause,  punctuation  of  non- 
restrictive,  399  ;  of  restrictive,  399. 

Adjective  phrase,   misplacing  of,   202. 

Adverbial  clause,  misplacing  of,  202 ; 
punctuation  of  non-restrictive,  399. 

Adverbial  phrase,  155;  misplacing  of,  202. 

Adverbs,  155;  conjunctive,  221;  modal, 
398. 

Allegory,  personification  in,  343. 

Alliteration,  349. 

alone,  misuse  of,  202. 

Ambiguity,  320,  321. 

Amphibrach,  361. 

Analogy,    argument    from,    325 ;     fallacy 

of,  327- 

Anapest,  361,  366. 

Anapestic  dimeter,  364. 

Anecdote,  defined,  30;  uses  of,  30,  31. 

Antecedent  probability,  argument  from, 
323-324;  fallacies  of  argument  from, 
324 ;  importance  of  argument  from, 
324;  opposing  sign,  324. 

Antecedents,  221. 

Antithesis,  350.  35 1- 

Antonyms,  219. 

Apostrophe,  345. 

Application,  letters  of,  237-241. 

Apposition,  396. 

Arguing  beside  the  jxiint,  230,  319. 

Argument,  143;    burden  of  proof  of,  330; 
compared    with    exposition,    307 ;     fal-  J 
lacy    of,    from    example,    325 ;     from 
antecedent  probability.  323-324;    howl 

42 


to  write  (summary)  338;  material 
for,  307  ;  preparation  of,  329;  refuta- 
tion of,  33<>-33i- 

Argumentum  ad  hominum,  319. 

Argumentum  ad  populum,  320. 

Arrangement,  parallel  in  antithesis,  350. 

Artistic  description,  38-7O;  main  im- 
pression in,  39-45 ;  placing  of  details 
in,  48 ;  securing  of  main  impression 
in,  40 ;  selection  and  characterization 
of  details  of,  38,  39. 

as,  introducing  simile,  339  ;  preceded 
by  semicolon,  404. 

Authority,  308. 

Balanced  sentence,  188-189,  192-194; 
arrangement  of  ideas  in,  188,  189; 
effect  of,  192-194. 

Ballad,  377  ;   stanza,  373. 

Barbarism,  222. 

Begging  the  question,  321. 

Biography,  94,  384 ;  topics  for,  383. 

Blank  verse,  371. 

Blocking  out,  78. 

Brief.  329. 

Business  letter,  225-234;  address  of, 
226-228;  body  of,  229-230;  com- 
plimentary close  of,  230 ;  heading  of, 
225,  226;  salutation  in,  228,  229; 
signature  in,  230;  superscription  of, 
231-234. 

Cadence,  367. 

Capital  letters,  410-413;  beginning  ad- 
jectives and  adverbs  derived  from 
proper  nouns,  412;  beginning  all 
proper  nouns,  411;  beginning  days  of 
week  and  months  of  year,  412;  begin- 
ning first  word  of  sentence,  line 
of  poetry,  direct  quotation,  410,  411; 
beginning  important  words  in  title 
of   book,   poem,  essay,  and   magazine, 


422 


INDEX 


412;  beginning  name  of  Deity,  411; 
beginning  names  of  sections  of  country, 
412;  beginning  ofl&cial  and  honorary 
titles,  411;  beginning  pronouns  re- 
ferring to  Deity,  411  ;  beginning  words 
Bible  and  Scriptures,  411;  beginning 
words  used  as  parts  of  proper 
nouns,  411,  412;  I  and  O,  411;  in 
compound  title,  411;  in  words  de- 
noting kinship,  412. 

Catalectic  verse,  366,  367. 

Cause  and  effect  relation,  assumed  where 
none  exists,  314;  use  of,  in  paragraph 
development,  150,  151. 

Cesura,  368;  cause  of,  368;  position  of, 
368. 

Character,  principal,  380 ;  three  important 
moments   in    life    of,    381. 

Character  study,  topics  for,  382,  383. 

Characterization,  286-294;  how  to  write 
(summary),  290. 

Characters,  naming  of,  380;  principal, 
380;  secondary,  381;  supernumer- 
ary, 381 ; 

Clauses,  395 ;  in  apposition,  punctua- 
tion of,  396;  contrasted,  punctuation 
of,  401 ;  transposed,  punctuation  of, 
400;  restricted  adjective,  178,  399; 
restricted  adverbial,  399. 

Climax,  351;  emphasis  by  use  of,  207; 
order   of,  21. 

Coherence,  principle  of,  14, 17-18 ;  between 
paragraphs,  156-159;  in  paragraph, 
155  ;  in  sentence,  199-205,  204  (sum- 
mary). 

Colon,  405-407 ;  before  long  or  formal 
quotations,  406 ;  between  statement 
and  explanation  when  connective  is 
omitted,  405 ;  between  statement 
and  list  of  illustrations  or  specifica- 
tions, 405. 

Comedy,  378. 

Comma,  395-403 ;  after  words,  phrases, 
and  clauses  in  same  construction,  395  ; 
after  words  or  expressions  forming  series 
of  pairs,  395,  396 ;  between  proposi- 
tions of  compound  sentence,  397 ; 
exceptions  to  rule  for  use  of,  395  ;  indi- 
cating omission  of  word  in  compound 
sentence,  401  ;  following  introductory 
words,  404  ;    omission  of,  in  title,  396  ; 


separating  adjective  and  adverbial 
clauses  not  restrictive,  399;  separating 
contrasted  words,  phrases,  or  clauses 
from  rest  of  sentence,  401 ;  separating 
direct  informal  quotation  from  rest 
of  sentence,  400;  separating  modal 
adverbs  and  adverbial  phrases  from 
rest  of  sentence,  398 ;  separating 
phrases  in  absolute  construction,  397 ; 
separating  phrases  in  direct  address 
from  rest  of  sentence,  396;  separating 
transposed  words,  phrases,  or  clauses 
from  rest  of  sentence,  400;  separating 
words  in  direct  address  from  rest  of 
sentence,  396 ;  separating  words, 
phrases,  or  clauses  in  apposition,  396. 

Comma  blunder,  196. 

Comparison,  literal,  340;  use  of,  in  para- 
graph   development,     147 ;     word    of, 

339- 

Compass,  points  of,  412. 

Complex-compound  sentence,  184-187. 

Complimentary  close,  of  business  letter, 
230. 

Composition,  1-25,  137,  140,  156;  an 
aggregate  of  smaller  units,  169 ;  choice 
of  point  of,  limited  by  time  and  space, 
6-8 ;  choice  of  subject  of,  i ;  defined 
(summary),  i,  3;  effective  and  ineffec- 
tive, 4,  5  ;  general  principles  of,  10-25  ; 
gist  of,  162;  how  to  make  an  effective 
(summary),  3 ;  kinds  of,  i ;  list  of 
subjects  for,  2,  3 ;  nature  of  point  in, 
5;  outline  of,  159;  selection  and  ar- 
rangement of  ideas  in,  10-14;  selection 
of  point  to  be  made  in,  3-6;  subject 
matter  of  (summary),  1-3 ;  a  unit  of 
thought,  169. 

Compound-complex  sentence,  184. 

Compound  sentence,  182-183,  184,  397, 
401,  403;  assertion  in,  182,  183;  asser- 
tion and  contrast  in,  183 ;  assertion 
and  explanation  in,  182 ;  assertion 
and  logical  outcome  in,  183;  assertion 
and  specification  in,  182;  compared 
with  compound-complex  sentence,  184; 
consisting  of  combination  of  two 
thoughts,  182;  consisting  of  enumera- 
tion of  specific  details  of  a  generaliza- 
tion, 183;  consisting  of  group  of 
thoughts,    183;     formed   by   group   of 


INDEX 


423 


thoughts  realized  simultaneously,  183  ; 
consisting  of  group  of  thoughts  express- 
ing parts  of  action,  183 ;  assertion 
and  repetition,  182 ;  members  of,  sep- 
arated by  semicolon,  403 ;  omission  of 
word  is  indicated  by  comma,  401 ; 
punctuation  of,  397 ;  when  required, 
182. 

Compound  word,  410. 

Conclusion,  318-321;  false,  313;  irrele- 
vant,    319,    320;  in    syllogism,    318, 

319- 
Condolence,  acknowledgment  of  letter  of, 

251;  note  of,  250,  251. 
Confusion  of  terms,  320. 
Conjunctions,  221;   misuse  of,  201. 
Connective,  replaced  by  colon,  405 ;    wise 

use  of,  221. 
Connective  phrases,  221. 
Connective  words,  221. 
Construction,  squinting,  200,  201. 
Conversation,  26;   point  in,  26;   principles 

of  success  in,  30. 
Correlative,  misplacing  of,  203. 
Correlative  conjunction,  position  of,  203. 
Correspondence,  social,  242-267. 
Counterplot,  133. 
Couplet,  372;   heroic,  372, 
Crisis,  381. 
Culmination,  381. 

Dactyl,  360-361,  365-366. 

Dash,  407,  408;  indicating  abrupt  break 
in  thought,  407 ;  indicating  strong 
emotion,  407 ;  separating  words  or 
groups  of  words  denoting  sudden  in- 
terruption in  thought,  407. 

Days  of  week,  412. 

Dead  Letter  Office,  232. 

Declarative  sentence,  394;  punctuation 
of,  394. 

Declination,  formal,   245;    informal,   247. 

Deduction,  316-319;  defined,  317;  fal- 
lacies of,  319-322;    from  specific  case, 

317- 
Definition,  logical,  299-302  ;  summary,  301. 
Deity,  name  of,  411. 
Delivery,  36 ;   how  to  secure  good,  36,  37 ; 

importance  of,  36. 
Demonstratives,  221. 
Dependent  clauses,  405. 


Description,  38-93,  143,  169;  additional 
subjects  for,  93 ;  activity  in,  70-75 ; 
artistic,  38-76;  blocking  out  of  figures 
in,  78,  79;  defined,  38;  enumerative, 
84-88;  forms  of,  38;  general,  91,  92; 
in  service  of  exposition,  302-303 ;  nar- 
rative, 72  ;  order  of  details  in,  17,  58- 
60;  right  development  of  details  in, 
42 ;   scientific,  84-88. 

Details,  combination  of,  67-69;  dcp>endent 
upon  relation  to  chief  detail,  64 ;  devel- 
opment of,  in  description,  42 ;  grouped 
about  central  object,  64-66 ;  in  artistic 
description,  58;  in  discussion,  17,18  ;  in 
paragraph,  154;  from  far  to  near,  60; 
from  near  to  far,  58 ;  placing  of,  in  de- 
scription, 48,  49 ;  right  development  of, 
in  description,  42-48;  selection  and 
characterization  of,  38,  39  ;  suggesting 
activity,  71,  72;  use  of  minor,  144. 

Digest,  162;  advantage  of,  162;  defined, 
162  ;   disadvantage  of,  162. 

Digression,  195,  196;   defined,  11. 

Dimeter,  362. 

Direct  question,  punctuation  of,  394. 

Directions,  giving  of,  33,  286;  to  expert, 
3S  ;  to  untrained  individual,  33  ;  ways 
of,  33. 

Discussion,  order  of  details  in,  17,  18. 

Dramatic  poetry,  377,  378;  classes  of, 
378. 

Elements,  topics  for  descriptive,  383. 

Elision,  367. 

Emotion,  indicated  by  dash,  407. 

Emphasis,  190,  199;  by  kind  and  number 
of  words,  208;  by  position,  205,  206; 
by  transposition,  206,  207 ;  by  use  of 
cHmax,  207,  208;  causes  of  lack  of,  205  ; 
principle  of,  20-21,  205-209;  summary 
of  principle  of,  208. 

Enumerative  description,  84-88. 

Environment,  114-119;  importance  of, 
116-118;  summary,  118. 

Epic,  377- 

Epigram,  351-352. 

Essay,  important  words  in  title  of,  412. 

Evidence,  308,  310-313;  circumstantial, 
308,  310;  direct,  310-311;  direct  cir- 
cumstantial, 310;  indirect.  310-311,' 
testimonial,  308,  310. 


424 


INDEX 


Example,    argument    from,    325;    use  of, 

145- 
Exclamation    point,    after    expression    of 

emotion,  3g4 ;    after  interjection,  394 ; 

use  of,  394. 
Explanation,    3s;     of    process,    282-286; 

requirements  in  making,  $$. 
Explanation,  extended,  276-29Q;   common 

varieties   of,    282-299 ;     how    to    write 

(summary),  279. 
Explanatory  expressions,  408. 
Exposition,      143,      276-306;       additional 

subjects  for  oral  or  written,  305,  306; 

by     synonym,     276;      defined,     276; 

description  and  narration  in  service  of, 

302-303 ;    purpKJse  of,  276 ;    summar>', 

303,  304. 

Fable,  personification  in,  343. 

Fact,  307,  308. 

Fallacy,  tion  causa  pro  causa,  314,  315; 
post  hoc  propter  hoc,  315. 

Farce,  378. 

Fiction,  384-388  ;   realistic,  94  :   romantic 
or  idealistic,  94. 

Figures,  mixed,  353. 

Figures  of  speech,  339-359;  classification 
of,  339-352;  defined,  339;  suggestive 
rules  for  use  of,  352,  353. 

Foot,  poetic,  360-367 ;  kinds  of,  365, 
366;  monosyllabic,  365,  366;  sub- 
stituted, 365,  366 ;  suppression  of 
syllable  in,  367. 

Formal  close,  in  informal  notes,  245. 

Formal  ending  of  letter,  230. 

General  description,  91,  92. 
Generalization,  183,  317-318,  321,  323. 
(Jood  use,  221  ;  violations  of,  222. 

Hackneyed  expressions,  223. 

Heroic  couplet,  372. 

Heroic  quatrain,  373. 

Ifpxameter,  363. 

History,    94.    383,    390-391;    topics    for, 

383. 
Homonyms,  219. 
Honorable,  salutation  with,  228. 
Hymn.  379. 
Hyr>erbole,  348. 
Hypercatalectic  verse,  366. 


Hyphen,  between  members  of  compound 
word,  410;  indicating  separation  of 
word  at  end  of  a  line,  410. 

/,  411. 

Iambic  pentameter,  364,  372-375. 

Iambic  tetrameter,  374. 

Iambic  trimeter,  373. 

Iambus,  361,  366. 

Ideas,  method  of    arrangement  dependent 

upon  kind  of  composition,  17  ;    selection 

and  arrangement  of,  10. 
Idyl,  the,  377,  378. 
Imperative  sentence,  394 ;  punctuation  of, 

394- 
Improprieties,  222. 
Incidents,  topics  for  series  of,  381.    • 
Incoherence,  causes  of,  199-204. 
Indention,  paragraph,  159,  229-230. 
Indirect  quotations,  408. 
Induction,  313-317;   and  deduction,  323; 

fallacies  of,  313-316. 
Informal  notes,  address  in,  245  ;  salutation 

in,  245. 
Information,  colUiting  of,  294-297. 
Instances,  pointing  to  difi'erent  conclusion 

ignored,  315-316;  use  of  specific,  145. 
Instructions,  giving  of,  286. 
Interjection,  punctuation  after,  394. 
Interrogation  point,  after  direct  question, 

394- 

Introduction,  acknowledgment  of  business 
letter  of,  252  ;  acknowledgment  of  social 
letter  of,  253  ;  business  letter  of,  252  ; 
informal  letters  of,  253  ;  letters  of,  251- 
254  ;   social  letter  of,  252,  253. 

Invitation,  formal,  242;  informal,  247, 
248  ;  informal  notes  of,  246. 

I-«iter,  address  of  business,  226-228; 
body  of  business,  229,  230;  business 
letter,  225-234  ;  communication  of,  225  ; 
complimentary  or  formal  close  of,  225; 
essential  parts  of,  225  ;  heading  of,  225  ; 
of  application,  237-241  ;  of  friendship, 
255-265;  of  introduction,  251-254; 
ordering  goods,  234-236:  salutation  in 
business,  22S,  229;  signature  in  business, 
230;  superscription  of,  231-234;  uses 
of,  225. 

Letter  writing,  225-267. 


INDEX 


4-'5 


Literature,  216. 

Loose-periodic  sentence,  i8q,  190. 

Loose  sentence,  190,    192;    defined,    188; 

effect  of,  192,  194;  how  formed,  188; 

order  of  ideas  in,  188;  and  periodic,  190, 

191. 
Lyric  poetry,  377,  378,  379 ;    forms  of,  378, 

379. 

Major  premise,  318. 

Manners  of  people,  topics  for,  383. 

Margin,  in  business  letter,  229. 

Mask,  the,  378. 

Mass,  20. 

Material,   in    paragraph,    determined    by 

point  to  be  made,  143;   determined  by 

taste  and  intelligence,  143. 
Melodrama,  378. 
Metaphor,  341-342  ;  compared  with  simile, 

341 ;  defmed,  341. 
Meter,  366. 
Methods  of  paragraph  development,  143- 

152 ;  summary,  152. 
Metonymy,  346,  347. 
Metrical  romance,  377. 
Metrical  tale,  377. 
Minor  premise,  318,  319. 
Mixed  figures,  353. 

Modal    adverbial    phrases,    separated    by 
0  comma,  398. 

Modal    adverbs,    separated    by    comma, 

398. 
Modifiers,  misplacing  of,  201 ;   position  of, 

203. 
Monometer,  362. 
Monosyllables,  268,  365 . 
Months  of  year,  412. 

Motivization,  105,  106  ;  defined,  105  ;  sum- 
marized, 106. 
Movement    in    narrative,    defined,    108 ; 

effect    of    moderate    speed,    no,    in; 

effect   of   rapidity,    108-110;  effect   of 

slowness,  no- 113;  interrupted  to  give 

surroundings  or  environment,  114-116; 

summary,  113. 
Mythology,  list  of  recommended  texts  in, 

388,  389 ;   list  of  recommended  myths, 

398;  topics  for,  3 S3. 

namely,  preceded  by  semicolon,  404. 
Names  of  seasons,  412. 


Narration,  94-136.  143;  additional  subjects 
for  oral  and  written,  136;  defined,  94; 
environment  or  setting  in,  114—119;  in 
service  of  exposition,  302,  303 ;  kinds 
of,  94  ;  material  for,  94  ;  order  in  which 
particulars  are  recounted,  1 19 ;  relation 
of  happenings  to  one  another  in,  119- 
122;  summary,  134-136. 

Narrative,  bringing  out  of  point  or  culmi- 
nation in,  95;  chief  impression  in,  96; 
choice  of  particulars  for,  105  ;  choice  of 
words  in,  122-125;  defined,  133;  de- 
scriptive, 126-129;  development  of  de- 
tails in,  94-96 ;  motive  in,  105  ;  move- 
ment in,  108-114;  order  of  details  in, 
96;  plot  in.  129-133;  point  of  view  of 
actor  in,  98 ;  point  of  view  of  bystander 
in,  96 ;  point  of  view  of  person  with  com- 
plete knowledge  in,  102-105 ;  purpose 
of,  94 ;  selection  of  details  of,  95 ; 
summary  of,  96;  vividness  of,  123. 

Narrative  poetry,  377—378. 

Non  causa  pro  causa  fallacy,  314-315. 

Notes,  245-251;  informal,  245-249;  of 
acknowledgment,  249,  250;  of  con- 
dolence, 250,  251. 

Nouns,  connective  through  repetition, 
221. 

Novel,  problem,  94. 

Novels,  list  for  supplementary  reading,  384, 
386-3S8;  topics  for  general  outline  of, 
380-381. 

Ode,  379. 

only,  misuse  of,  202,  203. 

Onomatopoeia,  349. 

Opinion,  307 ;  and  fact,  307,  308 ;  value 
of,  in  argument,  308. 

Oral  composition,  i,  26-37;  formal, 
26 ;  informal,  26 ;  subject  matter  of, 
I ;   summary,  37. 

Order,  dep>endent  upon  kind  of  composi- 
tion, 17,  18;  of  details  in  artistic 
description,  58-69;  of  paragraphs, 
159;  of  particulars  in  narration, 
1 19-122. 

Outline,  329;  kinds  of,  160-162;  of 
composition,  159-168;  practical  value 
of.  162;  simplest  form  of,  159; 
topical,  159;  topics  for  general,  380, 
381. 


426 


INDEX 


Paragraph,  137-168 ;  coherence  within,  155  ; 
concluding,  141  ;  defined,  137 ;  in  busi- 
ness letter,  229,  230;  indention,  159;  in- 
troductory, 141 ;  kind  of  ideas  needed 
in,  143 ;  material  in,  determined  by 
p>oint,  143 ;  material  in,  determined 
by  taste  and  intelligence,  143 ;  order 
of  details  in,  154;  point  of,  137-143; 
purposes  of  (summary),  142,  143; 
topic  sentence  in,  152-154;  transi- 
tional, 142 ;  a  unit  in  main  body  of 
composition,  141. 

Paragraph  development,  by  use  of  cause 
and  eflfect,  150,  151;  by  use  of  com- 
parison, 147 ;  by  use  of  example  or 
specific  details,  145 ;  by  use  of  the 
obverse,  149;  by  use  of  repetition, 
148;     methods    of,    143-152. 

Paragraphs,    order   of,    156,    159. 

Parentheses,  inclosing  explanatory  expres- 
sion, 408. 

Participle,  dangling,  200. 

Pastoral,  the,  377. 

Pentameter,  363. 

Period,  after  abbreviation,  394;  after 
declarative   sentence,   394. 

Periodic  sentence,  188-192;   eflfect  of,  194. 

Personal  pronoun,  antecedent  of,  200; 
faulty  use  of,  199,  200. 

Personification,  342-344 ;  defined,  342 ; 
most  extensive  use  of,  342,  343. 

Persuasion,  307,  331-332;  aim  of,  331; 
combined  with  argument,  331 ;  prep- 
aration of,  332. 

Phrases,  395;  abverbial,  221;  punctua- 
tion of,  in  absolute  construction, 
397 ;  punctuation  of,  in  apposition, 
396;  punctuation  of,  contrasted,  401  ; 
punctuation  of,  in  direct  address,  396 ; 
punctuation  of,  transposed,  400. 

Plot,  12^133;  counter-plot,  133;  main, 
133.  381;  minor  or  sub-,  133;  simple, 
381 ;  subordinate,  381 ;  topics  for, 
381,  382. 

Poetic  foot,  variation  of,  364. 

Poetic  form,  360-379. 

Poetry,  377-3791  dramatic,  377,  378; 
kinds  of,  377;  lyric,  377,  378-379; 
narrative,  377,  378. 

Point,  bringing  out  of,  in  composition, 
8-10  (summary) ;   choice  of,  limited  by 


time  and  space,  6-8 ;  defined,  3 ; 
double,  31;  ideas  not  essential  to,  10; 
main,  137;  minor,  137;  nature  of,  5; 
selection  of,  3,  4 ;   when  well  chosen,  8. 

Point  of  view,  changing,  54-58;  clearly 
implied,  54,  56;  definitely  stated, 
54,  56;  definite  suggestion  of,  54;  in 
narrative  (summary),  105  ;  mental,  53  ; 
of  an  actor  in  events,  98 ;  of  a  by- 
stander, 96;  of  person  with  complete 
knowledge,  102-105;  physical,  53,  54; 
relation  of  details  to,  51,  52. 

Points,  order  of,  in  each  paragraph,   139. 

Polysyllables,  268. 

Portrait,  word  (summary),  80. 

Portraiture,  word,  76-84 ;  by  depicting 
few  conspicuous  details,  77 ;  defined, 
76. 

Position,  emphasis  by,  205,  206. 

Post,  hoc  propter  hoc  fallacy,  315. 

Postal  cards,  265-267. 

PrepKjsitions,  221. 

Presumption,  330. 

ProbabiHty,  antecedent,  323,  324;  pre- 
ponderance of,  324. 

Process,  explanation  of  (summary),  284. 

Pronoun,  adjective,  156;  demonstrative, 
156;  personal,  155,  221;  relative, 
221. 

Proof,  311,  312. 

Proverb,  interpretation  or  application 
of,  297-299. 

Punctuation  of  the  sentence,  394-419. 

Pyrrhic  foot,  362. 

Quatrain,  373  ;  heroic,  373. 

Question,  answering,  32 ;  begging  the, 
321 ;    rhetorical,  352. 

Quotation,  direct,  408;  direct  informal, 
400 ;  indirect,  408 ;  preceded  by 
colon,   406 ;    within    quotation,    409. 

Quotation  marks,  408-410;  double,  408; 
double  and  single,  used  alternately, 
409;  inclosed  in  quotation  marks, 
409;  inclosing  titles  of  books,  essays, 
poems,  and  periodicals,  408 ;  with 
quotation  consisting  of  several  para- 
graphs, 408. 

Reading,  supplementary,  380-393. 
Reasoning,    deductive,    322;     from    false 


INDEX 


427 


inferences  315;  from  too  few  in- 
stances, 313,  314. 

Refutation   of   argument,   330,   331. 

Relation,  additive,  221;  cause  and  re- 
sult, 221 ;  contrast  or  opposition,  221  ; 
exact    shade   of,    221;     of    time,    221. 

Relation  of  happenings,  cause  and  ef- 
fect, 121,  122;  time,  120,  121;  sum- 
mary, 121,  122. 

Relative  clause,  misplacing  of,   201,   202. 

Relative  pronoun,  201 ;  antecedent  of, 
2or. 

Repetition,  use  of,  in  paragraph  develop- 
ment,  148. 

Reports,  34;  book,  380;  kinds  of,  34; 
necessity  for  point  in,  34;  order  of 
details  in,  34;  proportion  of  time  to 
details  in,  34;  selection  of  essential 
details  in,  34  ;   words  in,  34. 

Restrictive  clause,  399. 

Rhetorical  question,  352. 

Rhyme,  370-377;  different  schemes  of, 
370-377;  end,  372;  how  produced,  370. 

Rhyme  royal,  374,  375. 

Rhymes,  interval  between,  370. 

Rhythm,  360-367,  372 ;  effect  of,  being 
suited  to  thought,  364 ;  effect  of,  being 
unsuited  to  thought,  365 ;  relation  of, 
to  thought,  364;  variation  in,  365, 
366. 

Rising  action,  moment  of,  381. 

Romance,  metrical,  377. 

Salutation,  capitals  in,  228;  forms  of,  in 
business  letters,  228;  forms  of,  in  in- 
formal notes,  245  ;  punctuation  of,  in 
business  letters,  228;  punctuation  of,  in 
informal  notes,  245. 

Scansion,  368. 

Schemes,  rhyme,  370-377. 

Scientific  description,  84-88. 

Scientific  works,  topics  for,  383-384. 

Seasons,  names  of,  412. 

Semicolon,  403-405. 

Sentence,  169-215  ;  balanced,  188-189, 195  ; 
coherence  of,  195  ;  complex,  178;  com- 
plete description,  169 ;  complete  narra- 
tion, 169 ;  compound,  182-183, 187,  397  ; 
compound-complex,  184-187;  defined, 
169;  emphasis  of,  195;  form  of,  deter- 
mined   by    nature    of    thought,    187 ; 


group  of,  related,  137;  length  of,  195; 
loose,  188,  195;  loose-periodic,  189; 
order  of  ideas  in,  187;  periodic, 
188,  19s ;  prominent  places  in,  205 ; 
punctuation  of,  394-419;  simple,  187; 
a  unit  in  composition,  169;  unity,  195, 
197-198  (summary). 

Series,  punctuation  of  clauses  in,  395 ; 
punctuation  of  phrases  in,  395  ;  punc- 
tuation of  words  in,  395. 

Setting,    114-116. 

Sign,  argument  from,  328,  329. 

Signature,  230. 

Simile,   33?^34i- 

Slurring,  367. 

Solecisms,  222. 

Somewhat  later  than,  221. 

Song,  the,  378,  379. 

Sonnet,  375,  376 ;  English,  375-376 ;  Italian 
or  Petrarchan,  375-376. 

Speech,  figures  of,  339-359- 

Spelling,  rules  for,  268-270. 

Spelling  list,  270-275. 

Spondee,  362. 

Stanza,  372-377 ;  ballad,  373;  classified, 
372-377;  defined,  372;  length  of,  372; 
Spenserian,  375;    Tennysonian,  374. 

Story,  chief  events  of,  380;  conclusion  of, 
380;  outline  of,  380 ;  short,  list  and  topics 
for,  380-381,  384-385- 

Style,  how  secured  in  sentence,  195. 

Subject,  principles  for  choice  of  (summary), 
3  ;  principles  for  securing  effectiveness 
of  (summary),  10;   change  of,  197. 

Subplot,  133,  381. 

Suggestion,  51. 

Summary,  argument,  338 ;  characterization, 
290;  coherence,  18,  204;  composition, 
3.  37 ;  definition,  logical,  301 ;  de- 
scription, artistic,  75,  76 ;  emphasis,  23, 
208 ;  exfMDsition,  303-305  ;  explanation, 
extended,  279 ;  paragraph,  142-143, 152  ; 
process,  explanation  of,  284 ;  narration, 
134-136;  subject,  10;  unity,  12,  197- 
198;  word  portrait,  80. 

Superscription,  231-234. 

Supplementary  reading,  380-393. 

Suspense,  how  produced,  194. 

Syllables,  accented  and  unaccented,  360- 
362  ;  suppression  of,  367. 

Synecdoche,  347-348. 


428 


INDEX 


Syllogism,  317-319. 
Synonyms,  217,  218. 
Synopsis,  162. 

Tale,  metrical,  377. 

Tautology,  208. 

Telegram,  241,  242. 

Tennysonian  stanza,  374. 

Tercet,  373- 

Terms,  confusion  of,  320,  321. 

Testimony,  308-310. 

Tetrameter,  363. 

Titles  of  books,  essays,  periodicals,  poems, 

408. 
Titles  in  address  of  letter,  226,  227. 
Topical  outline,  13Q,  162. 
Topics,  381-383. 
Topic  sentence,  152-154. 
Tragedy,  378. 

Transitional  elements,  156-159. 
Translation,  34-35,  224. 
Travel,  topics  and  list  of  supplementary 

reading  for,  383,  384,  391. 
Trimeter,  363. 
Triplet,  373. 
Trite  expressions,  223. 
Trochaic  tetrameter,  364. 


Trochee,  360,  366. 
Turning  point,  381. 

Unity  (summary),  12;  sentence,  195-198; 
of  thought,  17. 

Verse,  360-371;  acatalectic,  367;  blank, 
371;  cadence  of,  366;  catalectic,  366, 
367;  cesura  in,  368;  defined,  360; 
elision,  367 ;  hypercatalectic,  366 ; 
kinds  of,  362-363 ;  naming  of,  364 ; 
scansion  of,  368. 

Vocabulary,  224. 

Word  portrait  (summary),  80. 

Word  portraiture,  76-84. 

Words,  216-224;  in  apposition,  396; 
choice  of,  50,  122,  216;  contrasted, 
401 ;  in  direct  address,  396 ;  intro- 
ductory, 404;  general,  216;  good 
use  in,  221 ;  omission  of,  401 ;  ques- 
tion-begging, 321;  separation  of.  at 
end  of  line,  410;  similar  in  sound  but 
different  in  spelling  and  meaning,  220; 
specific,  216;  specific  and  general,  217  ; 
transposed,  400. 


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